


Iron and Paper

by muddyevil



Series: Mixing Magic [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-07-13 21:23:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 70
Words: 194,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7137794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muddyevil/pseuds/muddyevil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Gajeel offered some additional training to Levy, he didn't know what it would lead onto. Set after the Grand Magic Games and completely non-canon from there.<br/>Fairy Tail is own by Hiro Mashima, not Muddyevil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Solid Script: Lightning"

It was simple enough, in principle. Metal is an excellent conductor of electricity, so even if he used his Iron Dragon scales, her attack would get through to actually damage him underneath, right? If she remembered correctly he was injured heavily by Laxus, so surely her lightning attack must do something.

Levy put all of her hope into this logic as she poured her remaining magic power into the attack, but her confidence waned as Gajeel strengthened his stance and took the blow in his stride. She didn't even see him wince as the shock flowed through him and diffused harmlessly into the ground at his feet. Her logic had betrayed her, and Levy struggled not to visibly deflate. He must have learned something new after his fights with Laxus.

Gajeel simply cricked his neck from side to side, chuckling to himself as he took a step towards her. Did he have to be so goddamn cocky, after all he was supposed to be helping her out with her training! But she simply steeled herself (ha! That was ironic, considering who she was squaring up against) and tried to gather her remaining strength to defend herself from his next attack.

"Solid Script: Shield!"

The word sprang up in front of her just in time, blocking the first blow from the thin sword which her opponent had moulded from his right arm. She almost laughed defiantly at the strength of the word which had appeared, putting on a show of being cocky to show Gajeel just how strong she could be, but instead braced herself for his back hand, repositioning her shield slightly so it…

She heard the cracking before she felt the shield give way and squeezed her eyes shut out of pure fear. She didn't have time to duck, didn't even have time to move her arms from their raised position where they had produced her now-defunct shield, but time ran in slow motion as she waited for the inevitable end. This was it. His sword was sure to slice her in two.

First came the ripping, as the sword pierced the fabric of her baggy training top, and then the first sting of pain as it penetrated her skin. Still she was immobilized, her brain taking in every detail of the scene around her, from the cold metal slicing her flesh to the sweat which still rolled down her neck from her previous exertions. As the blade sliced its way from the entry point just below her right breast across and down towards her left hip, a strange thought entered her mind. Fuck, she hoped Gajeel could forgive himself for this.

It seemed like an eternity passed before Levy realised that she was still alive. She dared to crack open one eye, spotting Gajeel with his right arm returned to normal, frozen in horror in front of her. She winced as her heart pulsed and forced another pang of pain to her chest, before looking down to assess the damage.

Her shirt had torn from below her armpit down to the hem and now hung limply from her form. The wound was like a scalpel cut it was so clean, and she watched as small, gem-like droplets of blood began to well out of it. It only extended as far as her belly button, getting shallower as it moved its way down as Gajeel had retracted his blade.

Levy felt a rush of relief wash over her, and released the breath she didn't realise that she had been holding. Her upraised hands fell to her sides as her knees gave out beneath her and she sank to the ground. As the relief and the pain intermingled, her brain ground to a halt. And she started to laugh.

Gajeel stared at the girl in front of him, unable to move in the moment of shock which had surrounded him since he had reformed his hand into his human form. He watched as Levy fell to the floor, and finally broke out of his daze as the sound of her rasping laughter broke through his ears. It wasn't her normal tinkling laugh that normally reached his ears from across the guildhall, this time it was scratchy and breathy through her pain. He ran over to her, kneeling down next to her to assess the wound which now ran across her front. He picked her up gently, and laid her back onto the ground so he could look at it closer, Levy still giggling as her brain refused to switch back to reality. Gajeel knew it was pointless engaging with her at this moment, even if she was up to talking he wouldn't get any sense from her anyway and he busied himself with examining the wound. It wasn't as bad as he originally thought, he had pulled his arm back quicker than he had thought physically possible. It would need a couple of stitches, and was probably going to scar, but other than that it wasn't too bad. Gone were his worries of glimpsing into the wound and seeing bone, the cut wasn't that deep and it was cleaner than he thought it would be.

Levy took a few deep breaths as her brain started to slowly grind back into gear, and the laughter died down. She looked down at Gajeel as he studied the wound, trying to stay as still as possible so she didn't jar the wound and cause her more pain than she was currently in.

"Are you OK, Shrimp?" Gajeel said as he heard her giggling die down. He still refused to look up at her, refusing to face the reality that he had hurt her again. Levy nodded, before slowly and hesitantly moving her hand to hover over the wound on her stomach.

"How's it looking? It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would."

Gajeel swallowed loudly, before looking up at her face for the first time. Her hair had started to fall out of the pony tail she had pulled it out in, and strands now stuck to the sweat on her face.

"I'm gonna take you to the old woman to have a look at it, the kid's gone out on a mission and you know what the Salamander is like, I dunno when they're gonna be back."

Levy shook her head wildly at just the thought of the old woman who dwelt in the forest. She hated having to visit Porlyusica almost as much as Porlyusica hated humans, and she definitely didn't want to bother her for something as small as this. Although she wouldn't have objected to Wendy looking at her wound, she definitely wasn't going to make the trek out to the woman's home in the woods for something she could do easily herself.

"It just needs a couple of stitches, I can get that done myself after I get it cleaned up. I'm just gonna head home and get it sorted." She tried to stand up, but hissed as she used her stomach muscles. Gajeel heard the pain in her voice, and urged her to stay still. He would have preferred to take her to a proper healer, but he knew how stubborn Levy was when she had made up her mind, but there was no way he was going to let her just go home and do it herself.

"Fine, I won't take you there then. But you're letting me get this all cleaned up for you before I am letting you go home."

Levy sighed, thinking of objecting before thinking that the wound was in a pretty awkward place, after all, and it may be easier for someone else to reach to clean it properly. Gajeel took her lack of protest as an agreement, and picked her up in a single clean movement, and began to head home.


	2. Chapter 2

Levy tried not to blush as her face buried itself into Gajeel's chest. She was trying not to think about the position she was in, wrapped in Gajeel's arms and pressed up against his naked chest, his shirt laying abandoned on the training grounds. They both knew that none of the Fairy Tail members who used the fields would ever think of stealing Gajeel's clothes. It was still hurting every time she breathed heavily, and she had a feeling it was getting worse as the adrenaline from her earlier fight wore off. Her brain was whirring through what might have gone wrong during the fight, trying to assess the information so that the next time she trained she would be able to fight Gajeel that little bit better than before. She knew that she would never be able to compete in brute strength, and was hoping that she would be able to defeat him in tactics alone. Thinking through to his final blow, she realised something different than she had ever seen before.

"Gajeel?" She turned her head up to look at his face as he made his way slowly down the hillside from the training ground. He looked at her for a second before grunting and returning his attention to the uneven floor below his feet.

"That sword you used, it's not your usual Iron Dragon Sword. It was a lot finer than that."

Gajeel took a deep breath. He was trying not to think about what would have happened if he had used his normal sword. The wound wouldn't be as clean, that's for sure.

"It's something I'm trying out. I modelled it on Fried's sabre. I haven't tried it on anyone else yet" And now, I don't think I ever will.

Levy stayed silent for a second, and Gajeel knew he would give anything to know what she was thinking. There was that other dragon slayer who could hear thoughts, wasn't there? Or was that just an exaggeration?

"You know; I think that Fried uses a rapier. It's not as curved as a sabre."

Gajeel simply looked at her, before shaking his head. So that's what she was thinking about all of this time?

"I've never really thought about it, Shrimp. As long as it can hit and hurt people, that's enough for me."

Levy opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't think of a way to continue the argument. She thought that Gajeel would know a lot about weapons, but then again she supposed that the finesse of a rapier wasn't quite his style. He was definitely more of a broadsword or battle axe kind of guy.

They hadn't been on the flat ground for very long before they walked to a small farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Levy had seen it a few times on her way to the training ground, and seemed to remember an elderly man who had lived there a few years before he moved to Hargeon, following the urban legend that sea air curing a variety of ailments which had circulated a while back. She hadn't seen anyone go in or out of it for a while, so she had assumed it had been empty since then.

It was a squat little house, all white washed with a tiled roof and a small porch outside. The path went straight up to the entrance, with no real garden to speak of. She gasped as Gajeel walked up to the door, shifting her weight in his arms and transforming his finger into a key.

"You live here?!"

Levy shut her mouth quickly, the question had come out of her mouth a lot harsher than she had meant it to be, but Gajeel didn't seem to care.

"I got it a couple of months after I moved here. It needed a fair few structural repairs, so it was pretty cheap. I sold off the land that came with it to fund the repairs, and well I took a fair few high paying missions back then and did all the repairs myself, so I could afford it outright. No rent to worry about."

At this point Gajeel had entered the house and was kicking off his boots. Levy was surprised at the way the house was pretty well maintained, no junk littering the floors like she had expected.

They had walked immediately into a hallway, with iron arches either side into what Levy could see was a kitchen and a living space, and directly in front of her was the stairs leading upstairs. Gajeel directed her through to the living room, and laid her on a large black leather sofa. It was long enough for Levy to stretch out on, and she looked around while Gajeel disappeared through yet another iron arch into the kitchen.

The room was a dark gray, with a few bookshelves dotting the walls, a desk in one corner and a large oak coffee table sitting in between the sofa on which she lay and a large upholstered armchair. She moved her head around to the fire place and saw it dotted with small iron sculptures. She was pleasantly surprised with the lack of clutter, along with the fact that the house was, well, quite nicely decorated.

She was disrupted from her thoughts by Gajeel walking back into the room, carrying a glass of water along with a first aid kit over to the table before settling on the floor in front of her.

"It's a nice place you have here, is it just you and Lily?"

Gajeel grunted, trying to manipulate a way for him to see the wound under Levy's shirt.

"Yeah. And before you ask, the decorating and the tidiness is down to Lily. You wouldn't have been able to lie down on that sofa before he got here."

Levy giggled slightly, before resuming looking at the wound on her chest. It had stopped bleeding as heavily, but still a few rivulets of blood poured out from the thin red line in her skin.

"Shrimp, I think you're gonna have to take that shirt off for me to be able to patch this up properly."

Levy blushed slightly, before leaning up to take her ruined shirt off over her head. It wasn't like Gajeel hadn't seen her in a bikini before, right? And the sports bra she was currently wearing was a lot more modest than her red two-piece he had previously seen her in. He winced as the movement jarred her wounds, but tried to hide it from Gajeel. She didn't want him thinking that she was weak.

Gajeel tried to ignore the blush that dusted Levy's face, before looking down to once again inspect the wound. His sword had penetrated higher than he once thought, and had ripped through her bra. He swallowed, not quite knowing how he was going to approach the subject of removing that item too.

Levy was looking down at the wound, and her heart fell as she noticed the same issue as Gajeel.

"It's going to have to come off, isn't it?"

Gajeel nodded, before standing to turn on the light lacrimas which dotted the room, and draw the curtains on the floor length windows either end of the room.

"To give you a bit of privacy" he mumbled, as he moved his way back over to the couch.

Levy took a deep breath. Well, this was it. It was only for her own health, anyway. It wasn't like being completely topless in front of the guy you had more than a slight crush on was a big deal, right?

She reached behind her to grab the clasp before pulling the garment over her head. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look Gajeel in the eyes during this moment. If he asked, she would tell him that she didn't want to see him fixing up the wound. At least that was better than admitting how embarrassed she was right now.

Gajeel looked away as she removed her bra, trying to give her a small amount of privacy. Why he thought that this would make her feel better he didn't know, but he did it anyway. Once she signalled she was done he turned back around.

He tried to avoid looking directly at her breasts, he really did. But when he saw a small barbell piercing through her right nipple, he couldn't help but stare. Levy must have detected that something was wrong when he didn't immediately start treating her wound, and cracked one eye open slightly.

"Erm, Levy. When did you get that?"

Levy's blush raced down her neck to her chest. How could she have forgotten about that, even with everything that had happened in the past hour? She tried to think of the best answer to give, before deciding that Gajeel would know if she lied anyway so she may as well tell the truth.

"I got drunk one evening and made the appointment to have it done. When the appointment came around I was too embarrassed to cancel it so I went through with it. I've had it a couple of months now."

Gajeel simply nodded, before starting to wash her wound with disinfectant. Levy didn't know whether or not to be disappointed by the lack of reaction Gajeel gave, before deciding to lie her head back down and wait for him to see to her injuries.

After the wound was completely cleaned and disinfected, Gajeel made a small needle from iron, and threaded it with some medical thread from the first aid kit. He knew from experience that the stitches would hurt less if he engaged her in conversation.

"Did it hurt?"

"Mmm?" Levy was trying to imagine she was anywhere but on Gajeel's sofa on that moment.

"The piercing. Did it hurt?"

Levy cracked one eye open, immediately regretting it as soon as noticed the needle piercing her skin.

"Surely you would know. You have enough of them."

Gajeel stayed concentrating as he pulled the thread through Levy's skin, pulling each side of the wound closely together.

"Oh. None of these are piercings."

Levy cocked her head in confusion. There were bets in the guild about this kind of thing, maybe she was about to win someone a lot of money.

"They're a kind of scales" Gajeel continued, focusing on the next stitch. "I make them myself and push them through my skin from the inside. I've never actually had a piercing in the traditional sense. I can actually make more, or pull these ones back into my skin. I tend to keep the ones on my face in place though"

Levy simply nodded. Reedus had just won a lot of money on the polls, being the only person who had bet on them being self-generated.

They sat in silence as Gajeel finished up the stitches, and cut the string with his teeth. He pulled some bandages out of the first aid kit and helped Levy into a sitting position to wrap it around her waist.

Levy closed her eyes as her skin shifted and pulled slightly on her stitches. She opened them to see Gajeel's face closing in on her breast and her breath hitched. His tongue flicked out of his mouth, and time ran in slow motion as he licked gently along the metal of the piercing. He never touched her skin, but his warm breath brushing gently across her flesh made her nipple pucker and she let out a long slow breath. She didn't know what was happening, but for some reason she didn't want it to stop. She sighed inwardly as Gajeel pulled backwards, before returning to wrapping the bandages around her, tying them off behind her back.

"Silver. Thought it was but just wanted to check."

Levy's heart fell. Gajeel wasn't doing it out of any attraction to her, just curiosity as to the composition of the piercing through her skin.

"Well, I'd better be getting home." Levy tried to hide the disappointment from her voice as she stretched for her top. She sighed dejectedly as she realised it was far too damaged for her to wear it back home and maintain any level of her decency. The bandages were preventing her from wearing a bra - not that she strictly had to anyway - but with the tear through the front it would expose far more of her than she was comfortable with. Gajeel saw the annoyance on her face, and spoke up.

"My bedroom's on the right upstairs. As you go in the closet is on the left. Grab a shirt, it will cover you enough to get home. I'll clean up down here."

With that, he picked up all of the supplies from the table and strode back into the kitchen. Levy watched his back retreat, before slowly getting to her feet. She waited a second to make sure she was going to stay on her feet, before making her way up the stairs.

Gajeel's room was a mess, black walls covered with iron spikes and a bed piled so high with blankets and pillows that it looked more like a nest. She carefully picked her way through the scraps of iron and dirty clothes on the floor to the open closet, and grabbed the first shirt she could see. It was a black vest, with buckles down the side. She had never seen Gajeel wear this, and she imagined it was something to do with the missing buckles which she has suspicions had been eaten. She threw it over her head and it fell down to her knees, covering the work out shorts she was wearing underneath. With one last look around Gajeel's bedroom (were those open books she saw on his desk?) she made her way back downstairs. She peered into the kitchen to see Gajeel wiping down some of the sides. They way he had acted after their "moment" earlier, she had a feeling that he didn't want her to be their anymore.

"So… I'll see you at the guild tomorrow, Gajeel?"

She simply received a grunt in response, and after waiting a second to see if there was anything further he wanted to say, she simply turned around to walk out of the door.

She hadn't even made it to the end of the drive before her tears started falling.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time she made it back to Fairy Hills she had willed herself to stop the tears falling from her eyes. There was still tracks down her cheeks, but she hoped that if anyone stopped her she could always blame it on the injury. She briefly bumped into Cana as she was leaving her room, but she was far too drunk to even register the tears, and plus from the low chuckling emanating from her room Levy guessed she had male company. Oh well, she guessed once both Gildarts and Erza were away, the Cana would definitely play. The drunk woman simply waved a bottle at Levy, smiled and hiccoughed before heading out for more supplies. If Levy's guess was right, the person hidden behind the door was the only person who she had ever seen out drink Cana.

Once she was safely hidden behind her closed door, Levy's willpower broke and tears started to flow freely again. She pulled off her clothes and threw them in the washing basket before going through the motions of getting ready for bed, despite the fact it was still light outside. She didn't feel like doing anything else with her life right now. She stood in her bath tub, carefully washing herself down as to not get her bandage wet. She stood over her sink, bent over to wash the dirt from the day out of her hair. She wrapped a towel round her head and another around her body before she walked out to her kitchen to try and scavenge some food. She usually ate at the guild, but she really didn't feel up to that today. After rejecting the ten year old packet of instant noodles (which would have been far out of date even without her seven lost years) and some slightly squishy strawberries which Erza had left, she resigned herself to a simple cup of green tea. She tapped her fingers on he table as she waited for the water to boil, staring at a pile of books which she hadn't even started to translate yet, before pouring her tea into a large mug, with runes inscribed on the edges to maintain the heat. Cradling it to warm up her hands, she made her way back out through her maze of bookshelves to perch on her bed. She placed her cup on the bedside table, and looked around for something to wear to bed. After a few minutes, she gave up and retrieved Gajeel's shirt from the laundry and slipped it over hear head. She was immediately enveloped by his smell, and she instinctively snuggled into it before getting under her duvet to get ready to sleep.

She started reading her latest book, Of Dragons and Dragonslayers, but it just made sobs escape from her throat and her tears more frequent. She placed her bookmark back between the pages before finishing her tea and burrowing down into her blankets.

Fairy Hills was oddly quiet. Every resident except Cana was out on a mission (it was coming up to the end of the month so everyone was trying to catch up with their rents. Levy had the monopoly on translating jobs which made her monthly rent relatively easy, and she was sure that Cana made the entirety of her income from betting in the polls) and Cana was on her mission to find more alcohol. She never knew that she would miss the occasional shouts and bangs which erupted from the other girls rooms throughout the night. It made her feeling of loneliness multiply.

She had thought she was getting somewhere with Gajeel, she really did. She had plucked up the courage to ask for his help training and spent every spare moment looking up new spells in order to impress him. And when he leaned towards her earlier, she thought all her effort had paid off. But all of her hopes were for nothing, and now he probably knew that she was interested in him and was disgusted that someone as small, as bookwormy, as her thought that she had even a sliver of a chance with him. She could imagine him now, sat on his sofa with Pantherlily, laughing at her idiocy as Pantherlily agreed that, yes, Gajeel was too far out of her league.

She buried her face in her pillow as her snivels turned into sobs which wracked her entire body. Why did she have to fall for someone so out of her league? Why couldn't she develop feelings for Jet or Droy? She had tried so hard in the past, but she just couldn't force her heart to do it. She never even felt anything for any other guy in the guild until Gajeel came along. He had awoken her heart before unceremoniously smashing it on the ground.

Gajeel heard the door click closed, and immediately all of his muscles relaxed. He threw the dish cloth into the sink, and his knees gave out underneath him. As he sank to the floor, back against the cupboards, he let out a shaky breath. What had he done? All these months of building up their relationship, getting her to trust him, and he blew it all in one moment of misjudgment. It was just the way her breasts wobbled slightly with each tug he made on the thread, and each wobble sent a fresh wave of her scent mixed with silver to his nose. Between that and seeing her topless, on his sofa, she had slowly torn down his restraint and he just had to do it. The way her hair fell over her face, stuck to the sweat on her brow, and her lips parted slightly made him wanted her to see her in that state every single night.

But the look of pure terror on her face afterwards forced him to lie, put on that look of utter indifference which he had practiced throughout his life, and informed her what metal she had pierced into her body. As if she didn't already know.

He didn't know how long he sat there, trying to get his heart to calm and get his brain in order. He had done something wrong, he knew that. He had probably ruined the second best friendship he has ever had. And with how close the Fairy Tail family was, she would probably report it to the others and he would be ostracised all over again. Which was worse, beating and nailing her to a tree or practically assaulting her while he was supposed to be fixing her up, he didn't know. He banged his head against the cabinet behind him. How could he have been so fucking stupid? How could he have ruined something so beautiful?

He wiped something away from his eye, it was not a tear because Gajeel did not cry before pulling himself up to his feet. He wandered around the house for a while, trying to think of something to keep him occupied, to take his mind off everything that happened but he just could not think of anything that could tear his thoughts away. He made his way up to his bedroom, wincing as her scent still lingered in the air, violently dragging his thoughts back to the blood which had tainted her abdomen. Blood that was there because of something he had done. Again. Her blood had her own wonderful scent mixed heavily with iron. His two favourite things rolled into one, but the only time he could experience it was when she was in pain.

Gajeel sat down at his desk, and unlocked his draw. He pulled out a notepad and a pen and reviewed his previous notes. He pulled the open book on his desk closer to him, and silently prayed that Levy hadn't seen it's focus. He could tell that she hadn't been over by the desk, but he didn't trust her not to know every book in the guilds library by the colour and thickness alone. He sighed as he glanced at the last chapter he had been working on. This book had taken him three months already, and he was only on the fourth chapter. He didn't know how the Shrimp did this day in, day out without going insane. This was the simplest book he could find on the subject, and it was still confusing him. But he was Gajeel, the Iron Shadow Dragon Slayer, and he would never be defeated.

Two hours later, he was seriously doubting this sentiment. Maybe, just maybe, Gajeel could be defeated by a book. Somehow, it just made Gajeel fall in love with her even more. If she could sit and read through ten of these things per hour, the hell she deserved her S-Class candidate status. Not that she wasn't strong enough for other reasons as well. She was getting harder to beat in training, although he would never tell her that. He couldn't do with her getting complacent. At least, he would tell himself that was the reason, while a little voice at the back of his head reminded him that the truth was so she didn't realise that she no longer needed him. He was most of the way there to making her big.

He grunted loudly and threw his stationary back in the drawer. He wasn't in the mood to study any further tonight. Instead, he pulled out his latest metal working project and continued. It was a small sculpture of Tenrou Island which had been his most intricate piece so far. But even after a few minutes he realised what he really wanted to be doing, and started a brand new project.

Pantherlily entered the house, and immediately knew something was wrong. At this time of night, there was usually the smell of something cooking and the sound of Gajeel singing as he made them both food. But today it was silent, and the only smell was the lingering smell of disinfectant.

"Gajeel! Are you home?"

He didn't get a response, but the sounds of shuffling upstairs answered his question for him.

"Do you want some food?"

Silence again. Lily sighed, he thought that Gajeel had gotten over his occasional moods but obviously he was wrong. He simply padded into the kitchen and transformed into his battle mode to obtain the kiwis that they always kept stocked. Grabbing three in each hand, he made his way upstairs to his room, eating them as he went. He could hear the distinct sounds of Gajeel tinkering in his room, and dared to peek inside.

"Still working on tiny Tenrou?"

Gajeel simply grunted, not looking up from his work.

"How did training go?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Lily sighed. There was no way he was going to get any sense out of Gajeel this evening. He padded his way over to the training room, throwing the last kiwi into his mouth as he went. There was no point even attempting with Gajeel anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

"Yo Gaaaajeeeeel!"

Gajeel thought he had managed to sneak into the guild without anyone seeing him, but with one drunken yell he knew he was incorrect. He looked up from his camp in the corner to see Cana stumbling towards him, part of the way through her fifth barrel already. She slammed it on the table, before casually sliding out a chair and unceremoniously sitting herself down on it, crossing her long legs in front of her.

"How was your training session yesterday? Baby-blue looked pretty beat up when I bumped into her yesterday."

Gajeel sighed. He didn't know if he was disappointed that Cana had bumped into Levy after he had cut her open, or relieved that Levy obviously hadn't mentioned anything about their afternoon to her.

"How was Bacchus?"

He ignored her question, and fielded it with one of his own. Cana paled slightly, before turning around to check that no one else had heard. If her father found out about it, then the probability was that they would both be annihilated. Satisfied that no one was eavesdropping on them, and the lack of other dragon slayers in the building, she turned back around, leaning towards the man in front of her.

"How the fuck did you know about that?" she hissed, desperate to keep the gossip away from the demon behind the bar. Gajeel simply tapped his nose.

"You smell of liquor and regret."

Cana sighed, sitting back in the chair. She should have known that Gajeel would figure it out, and after they had hidden it so well too.

"You're a dickhead, Gajeel, you know that?" She sighed. "Well, don't tell anyone, ok? You know what my Dad would do if he learned I was having special sleepovers."

Gajeel chuckled as he shook his head. Of course, he was happy for Cana finding someone with the same interests as her, but he still couldn't force down the tiny stab of jealousy in the back of his mind.

"So, Metal-Man, how did it go yesterday?"

Gajeel sighed. He was hoping that she was too drunk to remember her previous question, but he would never be that lucky with the card mage. She had been one of the first people at Fairy Tail to trust him, and since then he had felt… somewhat comfortable around her. He never saw her the same way he saw Levy, of course, but more like a brother with tits. So if there was anyone who he could talk to, it was either her or the Rain Woman.

"If I keep your secret for you, Drunk, would you give me some advice?"

Cana looked him up and down. She trusted Gajeel to keep her secret either way, but she knew that he had to be panicking to actually ask someone for help. She pretended to contemplate it for a second, to make her sweat like he had done to her earlier.

"Sure. Shoot away." As the guilds leading authority on future prediction, she knew she could give advice on any issue.

Gajeel lowered his voice, and whispered under his breath.

"Salamander is a complete wimp, who would never win a fight against me. Lightning prick is far too overrated and should never have been made S-Class. I heard the little kid is secretly in love with Macao."

He waited for any reaction from any of the dragon slayers who may have somehow evaded his senses. He would rather be safe than sorry when it came to his love life. When there was no response, he took a deep breath and finally looked up to Cana.

"I made a move on Levy yesterday."

Ok. So Cana wasn't actually expecting that. She knew he had to be serious to use Levy's real name, and was floored that the sexual tension between them finally bubbled over.

"Expand."

Gajeel sighed, unable to judge what she was thinking. At least she hadn't jumped up and yelled it to everyone, and she didn't even attempt to hit him, so that was two of his fears out of the way.

"I was patching up her injury and she needed to lose her bra. I lost my restraint and licked her nipple piercing."

He flinched as he finished the sentence, knowing that if anything would push her over the edge, that would be it. But the reaction never came. Cana just looked thoughtful, before letting out a low, gut shaking laugh. Gajeel was torn between embarrassment and anger, and hit the table forcefully in his frustration, forcing cracks to run from under his fist out to the edge. Mirajane turned around to look at him, but simply sighed to herself. It was an everyday occurrence for someone to break the furniture in this place.

"For fucks sake, Drunkard. I thought you were given me some advice. Unless you wanted me to tell Daddy-o about your late night visitors."

The threat brought Cana to her senses, and she simply wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes before looking at Gajeel.

"I'm sorry. It's just I told her that if she got her tit pierced would drive you mad."

Gajeel looked at her in pure confusion. Had Levy lied yesterday? He hadn't heard her heart beat faster at her lie, but that could have meant that either Levy was very good at lying, or she may have just left out a few of the… details.

"So you knew she had it?"

"Knew it?" Cana laughed in response. "I held her hand while she got it done."

For some reason, Gajeel felt a wave of jealousy wash over him. It should have been him sat holding her hand. He immediately shook is head at his stupidity. There was no way she liked him the way he liked her. Cana's voice shook him from his thoughts.

"Look, Gajeel. You need to stop doubting yourself and make a move. This is coming from experience, you know. I never thought that Bacchus would like me back, but I took a risk and it paid off. I can't see Levy making that same risk, not without copious amounts of alcohol and I don't think you want your relationship to start like that, do you?"

Gajeel sat in silence, running his finger nails through the cracks he had previously made in the table. They remained silent as Mirajane came over to replace Cana's barrel and Gajeel's drink. The demon smiled politely at them, before heading back to her post behind the bar. Cana watched Gajeel for a few minutes, before giving up entirely.

"Look, what if I do a reading for you."

Gajeel looked up. He knew that Cana's predictions were always spot-on, but he was still worried, there's always a first time.

"Don't scoff at it. I don't offer my services to everyone, you know."

Gajeel sighed, before nodding his approval. He would need all the help he could get.

Cana's face became serious, and she pulled out her cards from seemingly nowhere. They sat in silence as she concentrated on the cards, seeing patterns that Gajeel wouldn't understand even if she showed him. It seemed like hours before she had finished, and Mirajane refilled his drink twice.

"What's she trying to find out?" Mira had asked the last time she came over, her voice as sweet as ever, but Gajeel knew what laid beneath.

"Some mission shit" Gajeel grunted and Mirajane walked away, disappointed in the lack of gossip.

Soon after, Cana spoke up.

"So, I think I have some advice for you."

Gajeel leaned forward in his seat, unable to hide his excitement.

"You need to go and see her. It can only end well."

Gajeel looked at her expectantly, before realising that that was all she had to say.

"That's it? You took hours figuring it out just to tell me to go back and see her?!"

"Well, that's no way to express gratitude. I'm not gonna help you again you bastard."

Gajeel sighed, knowing that his temper had got the better of him again.

"I'm sorry. I am grateful, thank you so much. Now it's just gaining the courage to face her again."

Before the conversation went any further, Bacchus practically fell through the guilds doors, trying as hard as he can to act that he hadn't spent the night with Cana and was just visiting to check up on the guild. Cana saluted to Gajeel, secretly wishing him luck as she stumbled back over to the bar and slapped the newcomer on the back.

So with that, Gajeel was left alone to think about the mess he had made with his love life.

Two hours had passed, and Gajeel still sat alone in the corner of the guild. Pantherlily had gone to see the exceeds for a few days, leaving Gajeel alone with his thoughts. He had watched people come in and out of the guild, and watched the general populace get more and more drunk as the day went on. Sometimes Gajeel cursed his dragon slayer body and his general inability to get drunk. Of course, if he really tried it was definitely possible, but just sitting and sipping throughout the day never seemed to get him far.

He sat back in his chair and sighed. Two hours he had been trying to work up the courage to talk to Levy, but she hadn't turned up at the guild yet. She was usually one of the first here, making her way down to the library to get work done, but her scent hadn't been deposited since her visit yesterday. Gajeel just hoped that he hadn't hurt her too seriously yesterday.

"Gajeel-kun!"

For the second time that day, Gajeel was pulled out of his thoughts by a female yelling his name. And not in a fun way, either. Juvia ran over to his table, avoiding the chairs on the other side of the table to slide onto the bench next to him. She slid a large backpack from her shoulders and dropped it on the floor. Gajeel sighed, it looked like his time of peace was over.

"How have you been? Juvia feels like she hasn't seen you in years!"

"Juvia, you've only been away for two weeks."

Juvia sighed, no matter how cheerful she was she could never pull Gajeel out of his gloomy mood when they were in public. It was only away from prying eyes he would reveal the softer him that he hid inside. She had been away on a mission alone for the past fortnight, and she would be lying if she said she hadn't started craving human company. It looked like Gray would be gone for the next couple of weeks, so the next best thing was Gajeel.

"But Juvia missed talking to people who understood her. They didn't speak Juvia's language where I went."

Gajeel sighed, nodding to Mirajane as she bought Juvia a glass of water. She engaged Juvia in polite conversation, in which Juvia reassured her that the mission went well, before disappearing off to serve other patrons.

"By the way, Gajeel, have you seen Levy? Juvia borrowed a book that she needs to return to her."

Gajeel felt like slamming his head on the table. Was he never going to get any peace today?

"How should I know? Don't you literally live next door to her?"

Juvia drank her water in one gulp, and Gajeel thought for a second if she drank like a normal person, or whether the water was just absorbed as soon as it touched her skin.

"Juvia knocked on her door, but she didn't respond. Juvia thinks she could hear her in there but she didn't come to let her in."

"If you just want to return a book, why don't you just do your water thing, go under the door and let yourself in. You could leave the book with a note on her bed."

Juvia looked at him in shock.

"Because that's a complete invasion of Levy's privacy! Juvia could never do that!"

"Didn't Gray find you in his bedroom last month?"

Juvia squirmed in her seat, nearly melting under Gajeel's hard glare. She hadn't known that that specific information had made it outside of Gray's bedroom.

"That's different!" she protested. "That was a surprise."

Gajeel made a noise which could have equated to a laugh in the back of his throat.

"He certainly was surprised…"

Juvia shot Gajeel a look, before holding her hand over his mug to water down his beer.

"Hey! That was perfectly good alcohol."

Juvia simply sat back against the wall, crossing her arms over the chest, still staring in what Gajeel thought was either anger or annoyance. Gajeel tried to glare back, but it was no secret that he had a little soft-spot for Juvia. Back in his Phantom days, she was the only one he would ever agree to go on missions with. And it did make him a little happy to see her come out of her shell more, and not stay the gloomy woman she was back in their old guild.

"I'm sorry, Rain Woman. I'm just a bit tired, didn't sleep well last night."

They sat there in silence for a while, both comfortable just in each other's company. Juvia's need for conversation seemed to have been fulfilled, and so they just sat and watched the guild together.

"So, what book did you borrow from Levy?" Gajeel asked, curious what Juvia would like to be researching. Levy had once told him that the majority of books in her apartment were non-fiction, the fiction books she tended to borrow from the large library in the centre of Fiore.

"It was a book on weather magic. Juvia thought that it would compliment her powers, as you know I'm stronger in the rain. If I could switch it off an on at will…"

Gajeel nodded. The constant raincloud which used to follow Juvia around had been a bittersweet thing. When it disappeared, it had the bonus of allowing Juvia to see the sun and made her more bearable to be around, but it had taken away a lot of her strength with it.

"Are you going to go training with Levy at some point today?" Juvia continued. She wasn't stupid, or blind. She could see the feelings her two friends held for each other. But Gajeel just shrugged.

"She said she would see me in the Guildhall today, but she hasn't turned up yet."

Juvia scowled, but it disappeared from her face in seconds. She didn't want Gajeel to see through her plan.

"Well, Juvia needs to go on a mission with Lisanna and Bickslow later today, she still needs to pay some of her rent. Could you take the book back to Levy for her?"

Gajeel looked at Juvia as she took the book from out of her bag, and slid it across the table to him.

"The Furry and that creepy pervert? Why are you going on a mission with them two of all people?"

Juvia shrugged. "Someone requested our services specifically. Someone's being haunted by the soul of a dead wizard, but it involves a lot of water traveling, so Juvia is going along to lend a hand."

"And Lisanna?"

"The wizard was an animal take-over mage so the client is hoping she can talk to them or something. Bickslow said that once souls get to that point they won't listen to reason, and that's where he comes in."

Gajeel grunted, happy with the explanation. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before Lisanna skipped over, pulling a suitcase behind her, and Juvia stood to leave.

"Well, Juvia will see you again soon, Gajeel. We should be back in a few days." She leaned into him, lowering her voice to a whisper as she did. "Go and check up on Levy, please. I'm worried about her."

Gajeel nodded, and waved to the trio as they left. He knew that there was a deeper motive behind Juvia's insistence, but at least now he had a good excuse. If things didn't go well with Levy, at least he could blag that he only went there to return the book, and not that he wanted to check up on her.

And with his mind set, he downed the rest of his drink, picked up his book and without further hesitation, left the guild.


	5. Chapter 5

Levy chewed the lid of her pen, working through the last of her translation jobs she had picked up. She thought she had left the hardest one till last, but now she had gotten to it, it was actually pretty easy. She only needed three dictionaries, and nothing more taxing than a little bit of brain power.

She had spent the whole day going through the multitude of translation jobs which had been piling up on her dining table for the past week. At this point, Mirajane didn't even bother putting the straight translations on the job board anymore, she just gave them straight to her. Levy didn't like to brag, but everyone in the guild knew that no one would be able to complete them as well or as quickly as she did. It was the only reason that Levy was never taking part in the end-of-the-month rush to collect her rent. In fact, at the moment, she was paid up for the next four months, leaving her a lot more money to expand her book collection.

"Pleased? Proud? No… I think it's Kvell."

She mumbled to herself as she worked through the paper. It was a play that a local director wanted to put on in the theatre, but it was written in a rare language which was only spoken in a few small villages out west. How the director had found it, she would never know. But it did mean she needed to translate rare, overly descriptive words.

"Redintergrate… I haven't heard that one in a while."

Levy thought she could hear the light patter of rain on her window, weirdly sporadic as they burst against the glass. She smiled, there was nothing better than being holed up in her room while it rained outside. She would never admit it, but sometimes she enjoyed when Gray upset Juvia so she could snuggle in her blanket with a good book as the storm raged on outside. She always felt a twinge of guilt, but in the end she reasoned it with herself that she was simply making the best of a bad situation. There was no cheering up Juvia when she was in one of those moods anyway.

The rain got less frequent, but for some reason it hit the window pane heavier. She was sure she hadn't heard Juvia get back from her mission, so it couldn't have been anything to do with her. She was tempted to go and look, but she was so close to finishing this play…

The rain graduated to tapping, less like water and more like a finger. Levy turned around from her desk, sighing as she abandoned her translation work. She'd have to resume it later on.

She was still wearing Gajeel's vest from the day before, not having bothered to get dressed or even wash It wasn't like she had anywhere to be today, and the lack of people in the dormitories meant she could sneak downstairs to the dining room and "borrow" some of the food that the girls sometimes left down there. She would replace it before they got back, anyway. She had told Gajeel that she would see him at the guild as a passing comment, but she assumed that he didn't actually want to see her after the way he had acted to her the day prior. She had decided as soon as she had woken up that she would take a pajama day, and go to the guild tomorrow to hand in all of the translation jobs. They were the type where Mirajane would contact the person who sent in the request, and they would come pick the manuscripts up. They didn't pay as well, but Levy didn't care too much about that right now.

As she made her way through her crowded apartment, she heard someone call her name. And it was the one voice she did not want to hear.

"Levy? Are you in there?"

She panicked. He couldn't see her still wearing his t-shirt, and therw was no way she was going to make it to her wardrobe without walking past at least on of the windows. She hid behind one of her bookshelves, trying desperately to hear which window he was tapping on. She wished she had his heightened senses, because no matter how hard she tried she just couldn't figure it out.

She was left with a decision. Either she goes to get Gajeel while wearing his shirt, or she goes to get him while topless. Or… She thought to herself, I can go back to my desk, and maybe he will think I'm not in. There's no way his smell can differentiate between me being here now, and the left over smell from me living here.

In the end she decided for a mixture between the two. She stripped off the shirt maybe he hasn't noticed his smell has been moving around, and went back to sit at her desk in just her underpants.

She didn't know whether to feel disappointed or not. Any other time she would love Gajeel to come and visit her, but right now she would die in embarrassment if he saw her like this.

Gajeel could hear Levy moving around in her apartment, moving into what he imagined was the centre of the room before moving back over to the far wall. Gajeel sighed. Maybe she didn't want to see him after all. He was about to leave when he remembered the book that Juvia had got him and sighed. Juvia would be pissed off if he didn't bring it to Levy for her. And what else did Juvia say? Something about sneaking into someone else's residence was OK when it was to give them a nice surprise? Gajeel fingered a small box in his pocket and smiled. He hoped she would like it.

In one smooth movement, he transformed his finger into a thin metal pin, and ran it up through the crack in between the window and the frame, chuckling as he heard the latch fall out of it's catch. Sometimes, his days in a borderline dark guild came in useful.

He dropped silently onto the carpet, carefully avoiding any of the books which towered around the room. He had never been in Levy's apartment before, but it was exactly as he imagined. Each wall was covered with bookshelves, and books overspilled into piles on the floor. Gajeel used his nose to sniff out where Levy was currently situated, and slowly picked his way through the books towards her. The pathways were obviously made for a Levy-sized person, and Gajeel had to squeeze to get through some of the towers. He had to suppress a giggle as he heard Levy's hasty scribbling. She hadn't even noticed that he had snuck in. He peeked his head around the corner of a bookshelf, and immediately stopped.

Levy was hunched over her desk, naked apart from some tiny little girls boxers and the bandage he had wrapped around her torso the afternoon before. Her glasses were perched on her nose, and her hair was pulled out of her eyes by a plain black band. She had her eyes focused on the pages in front of her, and was sucking on the end of a pen rather seductively. Her breasts were resting on the top of the desk and would knock into each other as she wrote. Gajeel could feel a certain part of his anatomy start to swell, and cursed himself inwardly for his lack of self restraint. He was torn between just turning back around and leaving, and going over to her and following exactly what his instincts were telling him to do. In the end, he went for something in between the two.

"Erm, Shrimp?"

Levy screamed, and Gajeel was forced to cover his sensitive ears from the noise. She wrapped her arms around her chest, covering herself as much as she could. Levy felt the wound on her chest jar and the pain shot through her torso, but she refrained from flinching. Gajeel was stood in front of her, half hid behind a bookshelf, with a smirk across his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Gajeel?!"

Gajeel walked around in front of the bookshelf, and leaned slightly on the desk in front of her.

"Juvia wanted me to bring a book back to you. How's the cut feeling?"

Levy could feel her blush spread across both her face and her chest, and was left speechless by the lack of concern Gajeel felt about her being practically naked in front of him.

"Erm, it's alright I suppose. How did you get in here?"

"Your window isn't very secure, I just opened it up when you didn't hear me knocking on the glass."

Levy looked at him in shock. Sure, she had heard Lucy talk about Natsu sneaking into her house randomly, but she had always assumed that it was simply a Natsu thing, rather than something that encompassed all of the Dragon Slayers. Maybe Wendy had no concept of personal spaces either.

"You know that you can't just do that, right?"

Gajeel looked dejected, and for the first time moved his eyes away from hers and stared at the floor.

"Juvia said that it was ok to break into people's apartments if you were giving them a nice surprise."

Levy tried to think this statement through for a moment, before remembering the time Juvia came back last month, crying because Gray had kicked her out of his place. You know what, she really wasn't surprised. Neither of them really had the best idea of social norms. She sighed and sat back in her chair, before closing her eyes to try and block out what was happening at this moment in time.

"So, Shorty, do you often do your translation work naked?"

Levy's eyes shot open, and met with Gajeel's staring right back at her. She flustered, and her mouth opened and closed for a few seconds before she broke contact with them and looked back at the floor.

Gajeel took a few steps over to the nearest clothes he could see, and picked it up before throwing it over to Levy.

"Put that on, Shrimp."

Levy turned away, trying to maintain any dignity she had left. It wasn't like she wasn't ever naked around her guild mates, she took baths with the other girls in Fairy Hills regularly, and even the rest of Team Shadowgear saw her without any clothes when they were on missions. Hell, Gajeel himself had seen her in a similar state of undress just the day before, but something was different about them being sat there, in front of her desk, with Gajeel's eyes burning holes in the back of her shoulders. She slipped the fabric over her head, and cursed herself when she realised it was the shirt she had borrowed from Gajeel the night before. Hopefully he would think that she had just discarded it when she came into her room the night before.

Gajeel looked up as he heard Levy stand, and for the second time that evening his breath was taken away. His shirt fell to her mid-thigh and hung deliciously low on her chest. It hadn't been made for her derriere, either, so it stretched across it and highlighted it. Gajeel's mouth opened and closed, kind of like a fish, and he was suddenly happy that Levy was looking the other way. He snapped his mouth shut as she turned around, and replaced his stare of indifference. Levy smiled at him, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling back.

"So, what's my surprise?"

Gajeel looked confused, tipping his head to the side in a way which reminded Levy of a small dog. She chuckled slightly as Gajeel regained his composure.

"What surprise?"

Levy giggled as she started to clear away her books from her translation work. She still had some left to do on the last job, but she could easily finish it in the morning before she went to the guild.

"You said you could break into someones place if you had a surprise for them. Implying that you had a surprise for me."

Gajeel paused for a second, allowing Levy to add to her train of thought.

"That's totally not true, by the way. Just thought I would let you know."

Gajeel fumbled in his pocked for a small box he had been keeping in there since the night before. Levy's eyes opened as he pulled it out, and showed it to her. It was a small silver box, but Levy imagined that it would be iron rather than the more delicate metal. There was fine filigree around the edges, leading to a small clasp in front.

"It's just a little something I made to say sorry for yesterday. I hope you like it."

Levy took the box and held it in her hands. It was cold, and fit neatly in the palm of her hand. She could feel her blush deepen, and tried desperately to calm it down, but she knew that she was failing. She opened it up slowly and looked inside. Sat on it's own little velvet pillow was a nipple-bar. It was a detailed metal dragon, cut in half in the middle to accommodate the bar and red gems for eyes. It's tail curled around, and Levy could imagine that when it was placed in her body it would look like a dragon breaking through. She picked it up, and was surprised with how light it was. She tilted it slightly and watched the light glint off it's scales. It was almost like a real dragon, and Levy was taken aback by it's beauty. She couldn't imagine Gajeel making something so delicate.

Gajeel watched Levy inspect his work, and tried to calm his heart from the panic which rose through his body. He had gone into battle - with a dragon - and he still had never been as scared as he was at that moment. Time seemed to slow as Levy looked up at him, and a smile almost broke her face in two. Gajeel's panic disappeared at once, and he felt a smile break through his face at the same time. He stood still as Levy ran over to him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Gajeel was frozen in shock, both at her sudden display of affection and the fact that she could actually reach her arms around him. He was stuck for the longest time, before he timidly wrapped his arms around her in return. She seemed to be waiting for him to reciprocate, for as soon as he did she released her grip and walked past him.

"Do you want some tea, Gajeel?"

Gajeel was still stuck in his own thoughts, and couldn't even turn around to look at her. He simply nodded, agreeing to something that he wasn't sure he really wanted.

"Milk? Sugar?"

"Milk, four sugars."

He didn't see Levy roll her eyes as he was trying to concentrate on anything but her nipple encased in the piercing he made. With his own iron. How he hadn't thought of this before, he would never know, but something about seeing her inspect it triggered a switch in his brain which let all the naughty thoughts out. He switched between her wearing his piercing, to her breasts crushed against his chest the same way they crushed against the desk earlier. He heard her go into the kitchen and put the kettle on, and decided to go and find a couch to sit on, anything to get the mixture of thoughts out of his head.

He made his way through the variety of bookshelves, from medical journals to books on the correct tactics of criminal investigations. They didn't seem to follow any rhyme or reason, but he was sure that she had her own special order to them so that she knew exactly where everything was.

After the second lap of the apartment, he realised that there was no sofa to sit on. After a bit of logical thought, he supposed that it must be because it took too much space away from where she could keep books. Eventually, he settled for sitting down on her bed. It was neatly made, with only a single pillow and a thin duvet. Gajeel had never known how anyone could sleep like that, and he used to sleep in a cave. He shuffled himself around to get comfortable, his long legs hanging off the end, before smacking his leg on a rather large book. He grunted more in surprise than pain, and snaked his hand underneath the covers to pull it out. He took a second to inspect the book, glad that it was actually in a language he could understand, before having to cover his laughter with his hand.

The large, leather bound tome had gold letters across the front, written in an excessively fancy font. On Dragons and Dragonslayers, Hanh Dao. Gajeel bit his lower lip in his desperation not to let Levy hear his mirth. He had heard of this book before, along with it's propensity for lies. He flicked through a couple of pages, and with each bit of information his urge to laugh grew.

"Hey, what are you readi… oh."

Gajeel looked up to see Levy stood with two mugs, the blush which had obviously disappeared while she was in the kitchen threatening to creep back over her cheeks. Gajeel patted the space on the bed next to him, and she perched on the edge carefully as to not brush up against him. He reached his arm around her to grab the mug off her to take the first sip. He wasn't a big tea drinker, but if she was making it for him he wouldn't complain.

"I found a book of lies. Now, what are you doing with this?"

Levy squirmed from her seat on the bed, and made Gajeel clench his fist to calm down his libido. She refused to look at him, but Gajeel could see the blush which now reached across the back of her neck bringing out the blue of her hair beautifully.

"Well, I thought after the Dragons in Crocus it would be good to do some research… besides what do you mean a book of lies."

Gajeel chuckled to himself, before flicking the book open to a random page, pointing out as many 'facts' as he could with his finger.

"Bullshit, fucking idiotic, absolute crap. Need I go on,Shorty?"

Levy didn't flinch, simply looked down at her hands as they wrang in her lap. Gajeel felt a twinge of guilt, he knew deep down that she was just trying to protect herself and the guild in case they ever had to come up against dragons again. He put his hand on her shoulder lightly, trying to not scare her.

"Tell you what, Shrimp. How about you come over to my place, and you can read some of the stuff I got about Dragons. I'll make you something to eat while you have a look through them."

Levy looked up at him, her face lighting up, and suddenly Gajeel knew that he would do anything to see that face again.

"Sure! Just let me get dressed and we'll head over."

Gajeel remained sitting on the bed as she ran off to the bathroom, trying not to be overwhelmed by her smell which encompassed the entire room. He closed his eyes, regretting inviting her over. After what had taken place last night, how could she trust him so completely again? Although, that's kinda what his Shrimp did. He smiled. How had a big scary guy like him found someone like her, let alone fallen for her. He was shaken from his thoughts as she came back into view, wearing the tiniest denim shorts and a simple vest top, with lace-up boots which reached up to her thighs. Fuck, did she have even the tiniest idea of just what she did to him? She walked over to her bedside table, and dropped a very simple looking bar piercing on the top.

The grin she gave him then made his heart skip a beat. Yup. She definitely knew what she did to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Levy made her way over to her wardrobe, brain trying to process what was happening. Gajeel was in her apartment, sat on her bed, and less than half an hour earlier she had been practically naked in front of him. Oh yeah, and he had made her a nipple piercing.

She looked through her wardrobe, trying to think of what to wear. She had been putting off her laundry for far too long and her clothing selection was diminishing. Her eyes were caught by some boots which rested against the back of the wardrobe, and an evil idea entered her mind. What if she could make Gajeel repeat what happened yesterday? She grabbed the boots quickly, and rifled through the in-built drawers for the pair of shorts that Lucy had convinced her to buy. She ripped the tag off with her teeth, she was yet to wear them, and grabbed a simple top that she knew cut low on what, for her, classed as a cleavage. She practically sprinted into the bathroom, and looked at herself in the mirror for emotional support.

Levy, it's now or never.

She ripped off Gajeel's shirt, and tossed it in a pile of fabric on the floor. She stuck her tongue out as she struggled to change her piercing over to the new one, wincing a couple of times as she got it wrong. She still wasn't used to this. She balanced the old bar carefully on the sink, and got dressed as quickly as she could. Taking a second to admire herself in the mirror, she walked towards the bathroom door, taking a deep breath as she reached for the handle.

You can do it, Levy.

The voice in her head urged her to go before she could talk herself out of it, and she burst through into the room. Weaving through the bookshelves, she paused for a second to allow Gajeel to admire her outfit. She thought she saw him crack, but within a second it was gone. Resisting the urge to grin, she walked over to the bedside table to drop the barbell on the table next to him. She watched his eyes follow it, before they nearly bulged out of his skull. She could almost hear him gulp, and saw his fists clench by his sides out the corner of her eye. Wow. She never knew she had it in her.

"Ready to go, Gajeel? I'm getting awfully hungry, you know."

On the surface, she was referencing his offer to make her dinner, but she tried to layer in deeper meaning with the suggestive tone she often heard Cana use.

She watched him carefully as he was frozen still for a second, and a small twinge of doubt grew in the back of her mind. Had she taken it too far? Gajeel shook his head in a motion so small it was almost imperceivable, before standing up to his full height, towering above her as he did.

"Sure, Shrimp. Lead the way."

Levy's fingers fiddled absently with a small loose thread at the hem of her shorts as she walked along next to Gajeel. The small inkling of doubt which was in her mind before had now grown into a huge cloud which overtook all of her thoughts. Gajeel had been silent the whole way back to his house, and it let Levy's thoughts run wild. Of course he didn't have any interest in her, twice now she had been completely topless in front of him, and twice he had completely ignored her. He was probably just taking her back to his house to tell her gently, over their meal, that she needed to back off because there was no way a dragon slayer would ever fall for a little nerd like her. 'It's not you, it's me', he'd say. 'I just don't think it would ever work out' 'How about Jet, he seems nice'. She ran through all the possibilities now, so when the time came she wouldn't cry and embarrass herself. She'd let her hopes get too high, and she hoped to heaven that he wouldn't abandon her forever when he watched them crumble in front of him

Gajeel tried to hide the fact that every muscle in his body was tensed. He didn't want Levy to see how nervous he was to return his feelings to her. He couldn't do it, couldn't open himself up to her even if she was the best thing to happen to him, or the most forgiving person he had ever met. He had the growing feeling that he was failing, as Levy was refusing to speak to him and instead seemed fascinated by a small piece of cotton that hung from her shorts. How could he have thought that such an innocent action of putting a piece of jewelery back where she normally kept it meant that she wanted to have dirty, rough sex with him? The thought made Gajeel close his eyes to try and get it out of his mind, but only succeeded with an image of her riding him as his hands were fastened above him filling his head. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, before fixing his eyes on the ground in front of him. He thanked any God that was listening that Levy didn't appear to have the ability to read minds.

After the slightly more than awkward walk through Magnolia, Levy's heart lifted when she saw Gajeel's quaint little farm house in front of her. She allowed him to take the lead as he opened the door and let them both inside.

"Gajeel! Is that you?"

Lily's deep voice drifted down the stairs as both Gajeel kicked off his boots and Levy bent down to untie hers.

"Who the fuck else would it be, Cat?"

Levy suppressed a giggle into her hand at the familiarity between the two. She had never imagined anyone being able to live with Gajeel, but for some reason Lily managed to put up with him.

"Did you cut up my velvet… oh good evening, Levy."

Levy looked up to see Lily hopping himself down the stairs one at a time. Levy bent to pick him up when he got into reach, and fussed the spot between his ears. She thought for a second that she heard a purr, but it quickly went silent.

"Gajeel invited me to join you two for dinner, I hope you don't mind."

Lily shook his head, before jumping down to walk into the kitchen, using his wings to sit up on a chair.

"I don't see why it matters, it's my fucking house."

Lily shrugged at Levy, and they shared a look between them. Gajeel moved to get equipment out to start cooking, before quickly thinking against it. Levy would just get bored watching him cook, it would be better to get something for her to do before he started.

"Do you wanna go and find those books, Shrimp? They're up in my room."

Levy nodded, before following Gajeel up the stairs. The state of the room hadn't improved since she had been in there the day before, in fact she could see the addition of more clothes. Gajeel saw the amusement on her face, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Lily keeps the rest of the house clean, but he refuses to enter my nest. He gives up every month or so though, and goes on a mad cleaning spree."

Levy chuckled along with him and moved over to his desk as Gajeel made his way over to his book shelves. She looked down at the open book on the table, and recognised it instantly, even though she hadn't read it for over 15 years.

"Is this Solid Script for Beginners?"

Gajeel froze, before swearing to himself under his breath. How had his stupid fucking brain forgotten that he had left that on the desk? Levy picked it up, finding a piece of paper on the desk to use as a bookmark to keep his place, and turned it over in her hands. It was only the very basics of her magic, but it had helped her start off all the same.

"Why are you reading this of all things?"

Gajeel stared at her, trying to figure out what he should tell her. He didn't have the reason she did, it wasn't like they were going to go up against a vicious gang of Solid Script mages any time soon. In the end, he settled on the only thing that had popped into his head.

"I'm just looking at different magic the guild uses. Seeing if there's any teams that would be able to use their magic together."

Gajeel hoped that Levy wouldn't see through his lie and find out that he really wanted to know more about the magic Levy wielded, but the way her eyes lit up he thought his game was up.

"That's such a good idea, Gajeel! I should start on that!"

Gajeel tried not to let his relief show too much, but he didn't really need to bother because Levy's brain was far too preoccupied with the idea which had just entered her brain.

"Why didn't you tell me before? You know, I've always wanted to look into the kind of magic Juvia uses. It must be powerful to turn her entire body into water."

Gajeel knew that he had to get Levy off this topic, or they would never get food and he was starting to get seriously hungry. He closed the rest of the gap between him and the bookshelves, scanning through the titles to find the ones he wanted.

"Oh, that's easy. She's not human, there wasn't any body to turn."

Levy turned around to look at him, amazed by the casual way Gajeel dropped the bombshell of knowledge.

"What do you mean she's not human? What is she?"

Gajeel said nothing more on the subject, turning around to hand a pile of books to Levy.

"That's all the stuff I have on dragons and dragon slayer magic. I know a couple of places to borrow some serious, reputable, sources from if you still wanted a bit more after you've finished with them."

Levy stared at the books, the previous conversation completely gone from her head at the stacks of knowledge that he had provided her with. She inspected it closely, trying to decipher the scrawl of the words on the cover. She didn't even begin to recognise the lettering. But it must be a language she could speak, especially if Gajeel could understand it, right? But no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't make head nor tail of it. Gajeel seemed to see her difficulty, and deposited an old tattered stack of papers on top of the books she was holding.

"It's Draconic. This is a sort-of dictionary I wrote when I started learning English. It should be enough to get you started, and if there's anything you don't understand just yell and I'll come translate."

Levy looked down at the scruffy, child-like writing that covered the pages, trying to imagine a tiny Gajeel sticking out his tongue as he concentrated on the words in front of him.

Without saying anymore, Gajeel left the room, heading down to start on the food. He didn't even ask Levy what she wanted, but at that moment Levy didn't care. She cleared Gajeel's desk of the assorted clutter, placing everything gently in the drawers she thought they should go in. She was aching to get started on the books, but she still had respect for other peoples workspaces. She even managed to find a clean notebook, and a couple of pens to write with. When she had finally got the perfect working space together, she sat down and opened the first book.

Gajeel made it all the way to the fridge before the first comment reached his ears.

"Invited her over for tea already Gajeel? You'll be moving her in next."

Lily was still sat at the table, wearing a smug grin on his face as he popped another kiwi into his mouth. Gajeel pulled some minced beef out of the fridge, along with a variety of vegetables. He turned around to glare at Lily, his eyes glaring easily over the top of the fridge door.

"You had better shut your fucking mouth, cat. These walls aren't that thick you know."

"Relax, Gajeel. She's got her head in a book by now, you know she's not paying attention to us."

Gajeel created a knife out of his right hand, and started to chop the vegetables, periodically pointing the tip at Lily who didn't even flinch.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, cat. You've been spending too much time with that demon barmaid. Just because she gives you kiwi's doesn't mean she's your friend, you know. You're not untouchable."

Lily laughed, relaxing back in his chair. Gajeel had originally bought him a high-chair, but Lily had smashed it up in seconds. Now he had a modified wooden chair which he had sweet talked Laki into making for him.

"Like you'll ever go and talk to her to get some information about me. Everyone knows that you're terrified of her."

Gajeel scoffed at him, not even meriting it with a response, but Lily was used to these one sided conversations.

"You know what else everyone knows, Gajeel?"

If Lily was a lesser Exceed, the look that Gajeel gave him would have actually ended his life. But as it was, it just made him stop the train of conversation.

"So, what's she doing here anyway then?"

Gajeel threw his ingredients into a pan, stirring it a couple of times before leaning his back against the counters to look Lily in the eyes.

"She was doing some research on Dragonslayers, but the book she had was crappy so I… Hey, why are you laughing?"

Lily was almost falling off his chair, holding his sides as if they were going to tear in two. It didn't matter how angry Gajeel looked, Lily just couldn't stop the laughter that was bursting out of him.

"So, you're telling me… that both you… and Levy… have both been researching… each others magic… At the same time."

Gajeel growled in his throat, a noise almost animalistic as it rumbled through the kitchen. His stare nearly burned a hole right the way through Lily's brain while he waited for him to stop laughing.

"I'm sorry, Gajeel, but I just can't believe that you two aren't together yet. How have you two not even figured this out by now?"

Gajeel growled again, turning around to tend to the food. He was getting angry at the increasing amount of times it was insinuated that Levy had feelings for him. It was hard enough to put up with his feelings not being reciprocated without it hearing everyone around him talk about it all fucking day. He jabbed at the saucepan a couple of times, before adding a few more ingredients.

Lily knew that he had gone too far. There was a very thin line between normal Gajeel and pissed off Gajeel, and it had taken him a few months to figure out when he crossed that line. But now, Gajeel may as well have erected a huge sign above his head to inform Lily that he was in a deathly mood.

Hopefully he would get laid tonight, and maybe that would calm him down.

Levy had nearly finished translating the first page of the first book when Gajeel came to get her. It was one of the most difficult languages she had ever seen in her life, and she was suddenly glad that Gajeel had given her his dictionary, no matter how crude it was. If she would have had to translate it from scratch, she was sure it would have taken her years. For some reason, whenever she imagined the language that the dragon slayers all seemed to share, she imagined a rough, guttural language, but this language seemed to follow the flow of the more romantic languages. She had never heard anyone speak it, but she imagined from the way the words undulated it would be beautiful.

"How you getting on, Short stack?"

By the time she had even noticed her was there, he was towering behind her, with one hand placed on either side of her on the desk. As she came to her senses she realised just how close his front was to her back, and the urge to lean back and rest her head against his chest was almost too much for her.

"It's a difficult language. How long did it take for you to learn?"

Gajeel shrugged, resting his chin on top of her head, and trying to ignore the thrill which raised up in his body when her heart sped up. It's from nerves, he told himself. It's not from attraction. And that lust you can smell is yours and yours alone.

"Can't remember. It was the first language I ever spoke, I was so young when I met Metalicana."

Levy was still willing her heart to calm down from the excitement that ran through her body. She closed her eyes, finally giving into her urge to lean back against his chest. She marveled at the solid muscle behind her, and relaxed into his body as he brought his arms around to rest over hers around her waist.

"Speak some to me."

"Pryd bynnag y byddwch yn dymuno ei amdanaf, Berdys."

Levy thought that her life had ended and she had gone to heaven. It was everything she had imagined, and so much more. The way Gajeel's tongue twisted around the syllables made her heart flutter, and she almost sighed in happiness. She couldn't understand the words yet, but the simple tone of voice Gajeel used told her it was something sweet.

"That's beautiful, Gajeel."

"So are you."

Levy's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't move as Gajeel turned the chair around and she was brought face to face with him. Their noses brushed, and Levy's eyes closed. She could feel Gajeel's heart beating through his skin against hers. She could feel his breath hot against her face. In the same moment she didn't want to move, and yet she wanted to lurch forward and consume him.

"What are you two doing up there?"

Pantherlily's voice shocked both in the couple to lurch back from each other and open their eyes. Gajeel coughed slightly and removed his arms from around Levy's waist. Levy shook her head from the daze she was in and looked down at the ground, the blush that was now becoming so familiar to her creeping up her cheeks.

"Come on, Shrimp. Dinner's ready."

Levy stood up too quickly, her head getting light from both that and the blood which had rushed down to the base of her belly. She put her hand on the desk to steady herself before following Gajeel down the stairs.

Lily was sat at his special chair at the dinner table, with three steaming piles of spaghetti bolognese set out for everyone.

"Was it that difficult getting her head out of the book? I was worried your tea was going to get cold." Lily thought he could see a slight hint of a blush on both of their faces, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Levy sat down in the remaining chair, and pulled the bowl of pasta over to her. She had to admit that it smelt pretty damn good. Who knew that Gajeel could cook so well? She took a bite, and (she would never admit it to her) but she could swear his food was better than Mirajane's.

"So, Levy, how is the research going?"

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Lily making small talk over the top of his bowl. Levy noticed that he had a mini set of cutlery, but decided it would be too mean to mention it.

"Well, I haven't actually done any research yet. Turns out Draconic is a pretty difficult language, so I am spending my time translating it."

Lily nodded, he hadn't even attempted to translate those books in Gajeel's room and simply ignored when Gajeel muttered to himself in his sleep.

"Why don't you just get Gajeel to read it to you? He can translate it into English, and you can make notes on the contents. It might be good for you two to spend some time together."

Levy didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. It was a lot more productive to get Gajeel to do the translating, and the main point was to learn more about Dragon slayers, although now she kinda did want to learn the language he had spoken to her. Somehow, she didn't catch the death glare that Gajeel sent at Lily.

"Would you, Gajeel? At least until I get a solid grasp of Draconic. I wouldn't expect you to do it for all the books, only until I get the basics. If you don't want to I would understand, I know books aren't exactly your thing, and…"

She could tell her mind was running away with itself, but she just couldn't stop it.

"Relax, Shrimp. I'll read you the most basic book after dinner."

His heart lifted at seeing Levy's smile again, and he willed dinner to be over so he could sit and read to her. He had never wanted to read so much in his life, but there was something about being able to read to Levy that excited him. He just hoped that he wouldn't disappoint her.

After what seemed like years of sitting through Lily's inane conversation, Lily finally stood up and transformed into his battle mode to collect the plates.

"I'll do the dishes, you two can get off to researching if you want."

Levy almost jumped up and down with excitement, but Gajeel simply told her to go and sit in the living room while he went to fetch the book.

As soon as he was upstairs, he tried desperately to calm his nerves. He had come so damn close to kissing her, before the stupid fucking cat had to go and ruin it. At least she didn't run away, but there was still that little hint of doubt that she was just caught up in the moment, and if she had too much time to think about it she would come to her senses and leave. He made his way over to the pile of books Levy had made, smiling slightly at her neat little notes she had written on a sheet of paper. The translation work wasn't bad, not perfect (Draconic had a lot of very similar words which you could only really differentiate between with practice) but not bad. He grabbed the book that he knew to be the most basic, before heading back downstairs.

Levy was sat in his chair, curled up like a cat and looking entirely too small to be sat there. A certain trait which he knew all too well reared up, and he almost managed to keep it down. Almost.

"That's my chair."

Levy pouted, a look that Gajeel knew that he wouldn't be able to resist for long.

"But I want to sit here, Gajeel."

Levy whined at him, making his urge to let her sit in his chair so much bigger. But his inner Dragon growled, and took over his mind once again.

"No. That's my chair, Shrimp. No one sits on my chair."

Levy harrumphed, before moving to lay herself out on the sofa. She was so small that she could stretch her legs out full length and still not touch the arm of the sofa at the other end. Gajeel grinned, before sitting himself down in his armchair, and kicking his legs up onto the coffee table, knowing that Lily wouldn't shout at him while Levy was there. Levy looked up at him, her wide brown eyes begging him to start reading. So, feeling more than a little awkward, he opened up the book and started to read.

Gajeel didn't know how long he sat there, reading the old histories of Dragonkind, when he heard Levy's breathing get heavier and heart beat slow. He looked up at her over the book, and saw her eyes were closed. He carried on reading for a few minutes, until he was sure she was asleep. At some point the sun had set over the horizon, and Gajeel didn't think he would be able to read the words on the pages if it wasn't for his heightened eyesight. He set the book down on the table, and watched Levy sleep for a while. She looked so peaceful, enjoying dreams that he would never be able to experience for himself.

He knew that he should wake her up and walk her home, but he didn't have the heart to do that. Instead he walked over to her and bent down, picking her up gently in his arms. He paused for a second, making sure she was still asleep before slowly making his way up the stairs. He used his sixth sense of knowing exactly where all the clutter in his room was to maneuver his way over to the bed, and place her in the middle of the mass of pillows and blankets that made up his nest. She looked so small lying there, that his urge to protect her grew and he thought his heart was going to burst it swelled so much. He pulled a couple of stray blankets off the floor and placed them over her, pulling them up to her chin. He was about to leave the room when a small black blur flew past him towards the bed. He turned around to see Lily snuggling up to Levy, and whatever part of her mind that was still conscious wrapped her arms around him and snuggled up to him.

"What are you doing, Cat?!" he spat through his teeth in a harsh whisper, before Lily threw a smug grin at him.

"I thought you didn't like her that way, Gajeel. Why would you be jealous?"

Gajeel swore under his breath, but turned around and walked out of the room, not wanting to wake Levy up. Stupid fucking cat.

He made his way dejectedly across the hall to Lily's room, stripping off as he did, making sure to scatter his clothes all across Lily's floor. As he crawled into the bed - seriously, how did that cat sleep with only one pillow - he was for once grateful that Lily had refused to let Gajeel buy him a normal sized cat bed. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep in the ridiculously small bed with the love of his life just on the other side of the wall.


	7. Chapter 7

Levy could feel the hard wood of Gajeel's front door pressed against her back as she stared into the darkness of his house. Her arms were pinned above her head with iron which she knew somehow to be Gajeels, and yet she wasn't scared. A cold wind blew across her naked skin and caused her nipples to harden and the skin of her breasts to pimple. She could feel an excitement growing deep inside her, at a magnitude which felt so foreign to her. She squirmed from excitement rather than a desire to escape.

"There's no getting away now, Shorty."

The dark voice came out of nowhere and everywhere all at once. The words were spoken in Draconic, but somehow she knew exactly what it was saying. Gajeel's voice penetrated straight into her core, and cause her to squirm even harder. The rise and fall of the syllables matched perfectly with her heartbeat, and took her breath away.

His eyes appeared first, glowing from the shadows at the back of the hallway. They were jagged, almost torn at the edges and symbolised he was in his Iron Shadow Dragon mode. She watched as he slowly emerged from the shadows, his physical form hardening from the ethereal as it did. Each step he took seemed to shake the ground itself, until he was stood directly in front of her.

He bent his head down to hers, scraping his teeth roughly against her neck and drawing blood. Levy gasped as the pleasure intertwined with her pain, and she could feel Gajeel grin.

"No, there's no escaping now, little shrimp. I have you right where I have always wanted you."

The words drifted into her ears, and she could feel her knees give way. Gajeel's nails formed into claws and he scraped them down her arms, leaving red scratches from her wrists to her hips. Levy squirmed as the pleasure exploded from her groin, and she moaned erotically into Gajeel's ear. He chuckled before biting down, and Levy desperately tried to wrap her legs around his waist.

"What's wrong, Shorty?" Gajeel asked, looking into Levy's eyes with a weird mix of menace and worry. Levy let out a small moan of desire, before trying to rub her crotch up against his.

"Oh? Did you want more?"

Levy nodded, for some reason unable to open her mouth to speak. Gajeel made his way down her neck to her collarbone, eventually grabbing her right nipple in his mouth. Levy screamed as he bit into it, before it faded to a moan as he slowly drew his tongue across it to ease the pain. He took the ring of her nipple piercing into his mouth, and tugged on it gently. He looked up at her, eyes burning into hers as he continued to move his way down to her stomach, leaving little bite marks occasionally, before reaching her belly button and making a u-turn back up. Levy let out a small squeak in frustration, causing Gajeel to grin into her stomach as he paused a second to bite and lick a small spot just under her other breast. He stayed there for a while, bringing the bruise up to the surface and making sure that it would remind her of the time she had spent with him for a long time in the future. Finally he claimed her other nipple in his mouth, grabbing her right with his hand to tease them both at once. Levy's excitement only grew when he reached his other hand down, and started to slowly but surely stroke at her entrance. He was taking it achingly slow, and her body wanted more. She panted her frustrations into the cool air, unable to even form the thought to tell Gajeel to stop teasing her and just let her release.

It seemed like hours until Gajeel stopped his slow tease of her, and his movement was almost too fast for her to notice. Within moments he had straightened up to his full height, pressed his chest against hers and entered her in one smooth motion. Levy buried her head into the junction between his neck and his collarbone before biting into his skin to mask her scream. Gajeel grunted as the pain wracked through his body, and involuntarily pushed himself fully inside of Levy.

Levy's body took a moment to accommodate the entirety of Gajeel's length, but after it did she moaned gently as he started moving in and out of her, slowly at first but speeding up as her moans urged him on. He grabbed Levy's legs and help them on their journey to wrap around his waist. They clasped onto him tightly, pulling him further in as he grabbed onto her ass with his hands. Levy continued trying make small indentations with her teeth in any skin she could reach, undeterred by the metal scales which overlaid his body, while Gajeel clenched his mouth shut to stop himself from moaning too loudly. She reveled in the way his hard chest pressed against hers, forcing her breasts to bob involuntarily against his solid muscle, sending electricity down her body every time they did. She felt his hands leave her skin, and gripped her legs on tighter as his arms moved up to where hers were pinned against the door, and tore through the metal that was holding her like it was paper.

Levy immediately wrapped her arms around Gajeel's neck as he lowered her to the ground, starting off gentle but ending up slamming her against the floor when he just couldn't hold himself back anymore. Levy's body shook at the impact, and she knew that she would be sore in the morning from being slammed between the wooden planks of the floor and the iron hardness of Gajeel's body. Gajeel immediately claimed her mouth in his, viciously biting at her lips and tongue like he hadn't eaten in days. Levy arched her back up into him, still desperate for more, wanting all that he could give her. Gajeel wormed his arms under her body and gripped onto her shoulders, using her as leverage to plough into her harder. Levy moaned into his mouth, and it was swallowed instantaneously into nothingness. Levy moved her arms down Gajeel's back, and scratched as hard as she could, trying to leave the little red marks that Gajeel so proudly marked her with. Gajeel simply allowed her mouth to leave his, before chuckling down at her, expression dark.

"I think that the Shrimp keeps forgetting who she is meddling with. No one marks an iron dragon!"

With that, Gajeel flipped Levy over onto her front, pulling at her hips until she rested on all fours. Lining himself back up with her entrance, he didn't even give Levy time to squeal until he was buried deep inside her again. He thrust in and out of her, punctuating his words.

"No… An Iron Dragon… Marks his possessions. Not… The other… Way around"

With his last thrust, Levy screamed as her orgasm washed over her in waves, forcing her arms to give out and her to crumple to the floor. The new angle, plus the way Levy's orgasm squeezed around his cock, made Gajeel roar - a sound that wracked the very walls. Completely spent, he collapsed on top of Levy, once again pinning her to the floor.

When Levy awoke, she was sweating. It took her a moment to shake the dreams from her head, blushing as they formed vivid images in her imagination. There must be something out of place if she was having dreams that dirty.

She was enveloped by the smell of Gajeel, and it took her a while to realise with disappointment the source of the scent was his bed, and not him cuddled up close to her. She could feel Lily pressed against her belly - God she hoped she hadn't made any noise in her sleep - and they were both enveloped by a literal mountain of pillows and blankets which was the source of her perspiration. She couldn't remember climbing into the bed, and her brain trawled back through all of her memories to try and find how she ended up in this position. She could remember eating dinner with Gajeel and Lily, and going to sit in the big chair in the living room, loving how it enveloped her as she curled up. She could remember Gajeel arguing with her to get out of the chair, before she gave up and spread out on the sofa. She would get the chair eventually if she got her own way, anyhow. And that was it… that was all she could remember of the night before. She gasped. Lily looked up at her, made sure she was not in trouble before sleepily moving his way to the other side of the bed and curled up in a ball on top of one of the pillows.

She had realised that Gajeel must have carried her up to bed, and something about that felt so… intimate. He had seen her naked, they had almost kissed, but there was something about Gajeel carrying her up to bed asleep, tucking her in his own bed surrounded by his blankets and his pillows. She could feel the blush creeping in back over her cheeks, and shook her head to try and bring herself to her senses. She stretched, even when she had her hands stretched over her head and her legs as long as possible she still fit comfortably in Gajeel's bed. She felt her shoulders pop, before rolling slowly out of the warmth. She felt her bare feet hit the floor, and looked down as it dawned on her that she was still wearing the denim shorts and vest from the day before. She adjusted her shorts slightly, making them more comfortable on her ass, before making her way out to the hallway to try and find the bathroom.

The first door she looked in contained some sort of home gym. There was enough equipment in there to make a bodybuilder weep in jealousy, and Levy couldn't even begin to imagine what it was all used for. She made a point to ask Gajeel if she could use it sometime, to try and build up her strength off the battlefield.

In the next room she could hear a gently snoring, and decided that she wouldn't enter. With one glance into the room, she could see Gajeel laying spread eagle over a bed which seemed the same size as her own, hair in disarray and spread all over the pillows. She smiled slightly before moving onto the door which she assumed was the bathroom.

Opening the door slowly, she slowly laid eyes on a large bathroom, the biggest shower she had ever seen sitting in the corner. She quickly checked to make sure there were towels available, before locking the door behind her. Looking over the sink to the large mirror, she had to balance on her tiptoes to even see herself in it. Her hair was stuck up in all directions, her hair band had gone missing during the night. The blush that she thought had disappeared still dusted her cheeks, and she held her hands to her face to try and push it back in.

She stripped off slowly, standing naked in the middle of the floor. She looked down at her bandage, and debated with herself whether she could take it off or not. Looking through the cabinets of the bathroom, she found another first aid kit - she guessed that Gajeel and Lily needed to be patched up more often than she did - and finally decided that she could replace the bandage if need be.

Feeling behind her to try and find the tie of the bandage, she struggled for a moment to get it undone. When the challenged was conquered, she slowly unravelled the cloth from around her. Looking down at the wound, she was happy to see that it had healed up nicely. There was still a slight scab, but definitely not enough to need re-bandaging. She would get Wendy to take the stitches out when she got back from her mission, she wasn't quite brave enough to do it herself. Her hand ghosted over her breast, looking down at where the dream Gajeel had left his mark on her skin. It had seemed so real, she was almost shocked to see nothing there.

She stepped into the shower, and took a few moments to try and figure out all of the different settings which were presented to her. In the end she resorted to just twisting the knobs at random, until she got a nice warm stream flowing over her. She looked through the assortment of bottles on the shelf and chose what she thought would be the shampoo, hoping that Gajeel wouldn't be too pissed off at her borrowing it.

She squirted it in her hands, and was amazed by the raspberry scent that emanated from it. She spotted a bottle of cat shampoo on the shelf, and there were no others to be seen so it had to be Gajeel's. She lathered it up, and massaged it through her hair. With her hair piled on her head, she looked through the bottles for something that resembled shower gel.

Grabbing it from the shelf, she squeezed some onto her hand, pulling it up to her nose to breath it in. It smelt musky, something that she associated with Gajeel much more than the sweet scent of the raspberry shampoo. She lathered it up in her hands, before slowly dragging it over her skin. She gently ran her fingers over her wound, washing off any blood that was still lingering there. She pulled the bubbles down her legs, slowly rubbing the dirt from her feet. Standing back up, she massaged her shoulders, easing out the soreness that was still in her muscles from her last training session. She brought her hands forward to her breasts, kneading them in her palms and closing her eyes at the shocks of pleasure that wracked through her body. She debated whether she could pleasure herself here, before deciding against it. She had no way of knowing how loud she would be, and judging from the noises she heard every night in Fairy Hills, she knew that it could get noisy.

She turned her back to the water, and leaned her head forward to let the water flow down her back without washing the shampoo out of her hair. As her face tilted forward, her eyes fell over the piercing through her nipple. She was suddenly struck with realisation, she hoped that Gajeel's iron was waterproof. But the thought soon left her mind as she watched the small droplets form on the dragons scales, scattering rainbows across the surface from the sun that streamed through the bathroom window. She cupped the bottom of her breast, leaning it up to her face to study the jewelry more carefully. The eyes gleamed in the sun, the red orbs reminding her of of Gajeel's own. She wondered if he had modeled it after himself, or whether it was just her brain drawing links which weren't actually there. Sighing to herself, she was going crazy with this little crush she had, and tilting her head back she rinsed the suds out of her hair. She decided against the strawberry scented conditioner which was sat next to the shampoo, and instead fiddled around with the knobs until the water ceased to flow.

Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed two towels from the rack and wrapped the larger around her body before bending down and twisting the other around her head. She scrubbed at her skin, drying herself off as quickly as possible before shimmying into the previous days clothes. If she knew that she was going to be staying over, she would have brought a change of outfit. She balled her used underwear up into a ball, shoving it into her pocket to throw it in the laundry when she got home. She roughly mussed her hair with the towel to dry it off, before throwing both of the towels in Gajeel's laundry basket and making her way out into the hall.

She intended to go back across to Gajeel's room to do some more work on her Draconic, she really did, but it didn't quite work out as she planned it to. The small snores coming from the smaller bedroom called to her like a siren song, and she tiptoed over to the door to peer back in. Gajeel hadn't moved since she had stuck her head in earlier, apparently undeterred by the noise of the shower. She padded over to the bed, before balancing on the edge carefully, making sure not to joustle him awake. She peered at his face, amazed by the difference now that he was asleep. He still had the same sharp facial structures as he did before, but in his slumber his expression wasn't twisted into a scowl or a smirk like it usually was, and he seemed oddly calm. And a good deal younger as well. A strand of hair fell across his face, obscuring the left half entirely, and Levy absentmindedly pushed it out of his eye to tuck it behind his ear. Her hand was cupped around the side of his head before she realised what she was doing, and relief washed over her as she spotted that he was still deep in sleep. She stroked behind his ear, remembering what he had said previously about his piercings as she felt the unmarred skin on the back of his ear. Her curiosity taking over, she dragged her fingers around to the front of the appendage, carefully running them over the metal that studded him there. She circled each one slowly, before moving her hand over to his face. She touched each piercing on his eyebrows, made her way slowly down his nose until she reached the small studs on his chin.

Not quite satisfied with her investigation, she grabbed a hold of the arm which dangled over the side of the bed, and pulled it onto her lap. Pausing a second to make sure she hadn't awoken him, she deepened her study of his piercings. They were warmer than she expected them to be. There were times when she brushed her own piercing, and shocked herself at the cold of the metal against her skin. She circled the pads of her fingers around the edges where they met his skin, reveling in the difference in texture between the smooth metal and the rough, scarred skin that made up his arms. She stopped her movements for a while, simply staring at the line which separated his flesh from the metal that made up his magic.

"Do you like them?"

She didn't have time to jump before the arm across her lap tightened, pinning her to the bed. She let out a scream, but it was captured by the same hand clasping across her mouth. Her heart immediately sped up, but whether it was from fear or the proximity of Gajeel she didn't know. He had curled himself around her, his one arm pulling her further onto the bed, with his legs pulled up on the other side of her hips.

"Because, if you do, I can grow more."

Levy let out a shaky breath as Gajeel dropped his hand back down to her waist. She looked down at where his head lay, and saw that he had cracked open one crimson eye, grinning up at her. Levy moved her hand to gently probe at the stud just below his lip. Before she could get there, he stuck his tongue out to lick at her fingertip. Levy was transfixed by a bar which made it's way through the muscle, looking exactly like the one she had taken out of her nipple the evening before. Gajeel left his tongue hanging out, waggling it in a way that reminded her, worryingly, of Bickslow. He pulled it back into his mouth, allowing him to talk as easily as possible.

"I'm trying it out. What do you think?"

Levy was left speechless, her brain trying to trudge through the turn of events that had just happened to her. Gajeel moved in one swift movement, swinging his legs around to straddle either side of her hips off the edge of the bed and pulling her back hard against his chest.

"You know, Shrimp. A certain drunkard has told me that tongue piercings can feel amazing if used right."

Gajeel chuckled as he saw the blush rise up her cheeks, and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, reveling in how tiny she was in his grasp. He lowered his nose down to her damp hair, wanting desperately to inhale her intoxicating scent, but was met with a surprise. He knew that there was something different as soon as he had woken up, but now he had put his finger on it. The dragon had already risen from it's cave when he had assumed his position wrapped around Levy, and there was no way he was getting it back down now. The urge overwhelmed him, and he pushed Levy off his lap.

"What the fuck, Shrimp? Did you use my shampoo?!"

He could see Levy's confusion, but the dragon had come out and it never backed down. He folded his arms in front of him, and stared her down. She cracked under his gaze, like he knew she would, and mumbled while staring at the floor.

"It was the only shampoo there…"

"Yeah. Because it's MY shampoo."

Levy shuffled her feet, and a part of Gajeel that had buried itself deep down away from the dragon found it weirdly cute.

"I'll buy you some more, I'm sorry."

Gajeel kept staring at her, not even warranting the stupid comment with a response. He kept staring at her until she stamped her foot, threw her arms up in frustration and left the room. He growled, the Dragon inside him pleased at the victory, and trudged across to his room to hide himself back in his nest.

Lily heard the whole situation, and was stood ready on the bed for when Gajeel walked in. He was walking with spring in his step, the way he walked when he had beat an opponent in a battle. He took one look at Lily, and almost immediately deflated.

"What was that, Gajeel?"

Gajeel looked away from Lily's anger, mirroring Levy's previous stance almost exactly.

"Why did you let the Dragon come out, Gajeel. You know he can be a massive dick."

Gajeel toed at the floor, before deciding to defend himself against Lily's disapproving gaze.

"It's the principle of it all, Lily. She could have asked before she used it."

Lily growled at him, annoyed that Gajeel was going to argue against him when he was so obviously right. This is how it always happened. Lily would try and teach Gajeel something, Gajeel would argue just to make a point of arguing, drag the whole conversation out and then Lily would always win.

"Gajeel Redfox. You know you would have been just as pissed off if she had woken you up for something as small as asking if she could use your shampoo. 'Of course you can!' You'd say, before turning over and going back to sleep. If it wasn't for the fact that she had caught you by surprise you wouldn't have given a single fuck. Now you go downstairs and apologise."

Gajeel slumped over even more, his shoulders visibly sloping forward as he gave up the chance of beating Lily. Despite his outside appearance, Gajeel really took what Lily said to heart. Beside Levy, Lily was the person he trusted the most to teach him about normal social interaction. He looked at Lily pleadingly, silently asking him for help but Lily simply shook his head, forcing Gajeel to face his trial alone.

When he walked in the kitchen, Levy was finishing off a pot of coffee. In all of the arguing with Lily, he hadn't even noticed the smell percolating upstairs into his nostrils. She turned around, the blush which had covered her face upstairs now completely gone. Her hair was still slightly damp, starting to curl up as it dried and framing her face. She placed the pot down on the table, before turning around to grab some cups from the cabinets behind her. Gajeel would have giggled as she pulled herself up on tiptoes to reach the cups down if he hadn't have felt so embarrassed at having to apologise to her in the near future.

He flopped down into a chair as she made her way back over to him, setting herself down lightly in the chair opposite him and pouring the coffee between them, before smiling up sweetly at him.

"Here you go, Gajeel. Might help you wake up a bit."

Gajeel grabbed the cup and drank the boiling liquid in two gulps, slamming the cup back down the table as Levy filled it back up for him.

"My my, we are a grumpy dragon in the morning, aren't we?"

Gajeel sighed, taking a sip of his new cup of coffee, determined to drink it slower this time. He looked up at Levy, preparing himself for what had to come. She reached her arm across the table, and rested her hand on his bicep.

"You don't have to apologise, Gajeel. I understand. Your little quirks are what makes you, you."

Gajeel was shocked by Levy's words. How on earth had he managed to find a woman who understood the dragon inside him?

"You're fucking perfect, you know that Shorty?"

The blush returned to Levy's face, and the little voice that told Gajeel that she was the cutest woman to have ever existed on her planet came back in force. He stood up, holding his hand out to pull her with him.

"Come on, Shrimp. Let's go to the guild. No one makes breakfast like Mirajane."


	8. Chapter 8

Levy didn't even flinch as Gajeel put his arm around her shoulder as soon as they left the house. She simply leaned into him gently, and wrapped her arm as far around his waist as it could go.

"Do you mind if we swing past my place first, Gajeel? I could do with a change of clothes."

Gajeel simply grunted, before turning them both around to head towards Fairy Hills. The walk was quiet, but it was a comfortable quiet. They seemed to fall into their own rhythm as they walked along, Gajeel slowing down his walk and taking littler steps than he normally did. Still, it didn't take them long to walk their way to Levy's apartment. Gajeel took a few calculating sniffs, before deciding that the Titania wasn't in the building. He had heard tales of the terrible things that happened to any male who dared enter her territory when she was at the residence from Macao and Wakaba and he didn't want to have to fight her today. Levy giggled at his cautiousness, something that Gajeel so rarely displayed, before leading him through the door. The silence that fell over the building indicated to her that she was once again the only one in, and she took Gajeel's hand as she walked up to her room. Fishing her key out of her pocket, she unlocked her front door before pulling Gajeel inside. She left him looking through her books as she got changed.

Gajeel dragged his fingers along the shelves again, gazing his eyes on the wide range of topics in front of him. He picked up a book on takeover magic, and finding it quite interesting he thumbed through it quickly. He must had lost track of time, because the next thing he knew Levy was back in the room and speaking to him.

"Do you want to borrow it? I've already read that one. It's quite simple as well."

Gajeel didn't "jump", but if he did he would have done then. He looked up to see her in a short green skater dress with her hair tied up in a red headband. Gajeel shook his head, returning the book to it's proper place on the shelf, before reaching out to take her hand.

"Nah, it's alright Shrimp. I'll try and get my head around Solid Script first."

Levy took his hand in hers, enjoying the way that they were almost made to jigsaw into each other. They walked side by side down the path leading down from Fairy Hills, hands still intertwined. Levy was still in a kind of trance, wondering what had happened to Gajeel to suddenly want to be so close to her all of a sudden.

"Erm… Gajeel?"

Gajeel looked down at her, his red eyes staring into her brown ones and making her feel truly wanted.

"What d'ya want Shrimp?"

Levy almost melted, partly from his gaze and partly from what she was about to ask.

"What are we?"

Gajeel grinned, blowing air out of his nose in amusement. He looked back up to the path, leaving Levy staring at the side of his face.

"You're a Shrimp, and I'm a Dragon Slayer. We're both Fairy Tail wizards, too."

Levy puffed out her cheeks in frustration, forcing Gajeel to laugh out loud this time. She pulled her hand out of his and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You know what, I mean, Gajeel."

Gajeel looked at her frustration, and it took all of his will not to giggle at her. Instead, he held his hand back out to her to take, and spoke his mind.

"I don't know, Shrimp. Why don't we take it slow and figure it out together."

Levy's scowl turned into a smile, and even if she wanted to she couldn't have stopped it. She took up Gajeel's offer of his hand and grasped it tightly. She loved this side of Gajeel, the side that only she saw. The sweet side, the side that showed his feelings a little more and let down his walls.

"Yeah. It will be an adventure we can take on together."

Gajeel smiled down at her, a genuine smile that she saw very rarely. She let go of his hand, but used the momentum from his arm to pull herself closer to him and wrap her arm around his waist. His arm fell comfortably back around her shoulder, and they fell back in step to walk to the guild.

Levy and Gajeel separated before they got too close to the guild, not wanting to let anyone there know that they were… Well, that they were whatever they were. Instead they kept a respectable distance between themselves, each of them catching the scent of Mirajane's breakfast and hearing their stomachs rumble with desire. It seemed like years since they ate Gajeel's pasta the night before. They both burst through the doors, immediately making their way to the bar.

"One Dragon sized breakfast and beer, and whatever the Shrimp wants."

Mirajane smiled, used to Gajeel's direct manner. She scribbled the order down on her pad, and turned to Levy to see what she wanted.

"The usual, Levy?"

Levy thought for a moment, wondering if she wanted her normal order of fruit salad or something different.

"Actually, could I have a full English instead? I'm feeling kinda hungry today."

The look that Mira gave her was all demon, with none of her sweet human persona. Levy almost smacked her head against the bar, how did she not figure out that telling the Guild's resident matchmaker that she was feeling hungry, immediately after she walked in with Gajeel, was totally not a good idea. She felt her blush make it's way up her cheeks, that was happening far too frequently for her liking recently.

"And to drink, Levy?"

The voice that she used was barely concealed evil, trying to show that she didn't know that Levy had spent the night at Gajeel's.

"Can I have an apply juice please Mira?"

Mira scribbled down her order, smirk still plastered across her face, pushed their drinks over to them before running back to the kitchen to get it started.

Gajeel automatically made his way over to the table at the back of guildhall, and Levy made her way to follow him over. As she sat at the table, she felt like there was something wrong. Something was missing… or was it someone?

"Oh God, we forgot to tell Lily that we were coming to the guild! I think he was still in bed when we left!"

Gajeel didn't seem as worried as Levy was, simply taking a gulp from his mug before answering her.

"Eh, he's a pretty independent cat. If he wants to come to the guild he'll make his way over eventually."

Levy settled back down in her chair, leaning back to rest her head on the wall behind her. She took a couple of sips from her juice, before turning around to look at Gajeel.

"So what are you going to do today, Gajeel? Are you planning on going on a mission?"

Gajeel simply shook his head, putting his mug down before resting his feet on the table in front of him.

"Nah, I don't need any money for a while, the last mission I took paid quite a bit so I'm good. I was just gonna hang out at the guild, it never fails to be interesting."

Levy giggled, she certainly knew that. Growing up in the guild had told her that there was never a dull day. From the fights, to Cana telling fortunes, to the betting pools that Mirajane had under the bar. Sometimes she was just pretending to read, so she could just keep a watch for anything interesting and giggle at what was happening around her. Everyone simply thought that she was giggling at the book she was reading. The same tactic worked well for learning gossip from around the guild. She wasn't one to spread it around, but she knew a lot about everyone that walked through the big wooden doors. She looked at Gajeel, still confused as to what was happening between them and how to act around him.

"If you don't mind, would you be able to teach me some more Draconic after we have breakfast?"

Gajeel's face didn't change, but inside he was excited to know that she wanted to spend time with him. She still had a slight blush across her face from when she slipped up with Mira earlier, and Gajeel wanted to kiss every inch of it until she blushed in lust rather than embarrassment, but he knew that for the while he couldn't let anyone know the feelings that he had for her.

"Sure you can, Shrimp. It takes a while to learn so you'll be round my house a lot until it's learned."

And hopefully a lot after you've mastered it as well…

Levy looked up at him, gracefully accepting her breakfast from Kinana as a plate five times the size appeared in front of him. He pushed down the desire to eat it all in the space of a few seconds, and instead settled into the well practiced pace of something that was socially acceptable, but still fast enough to show that he didn't care for social norms. He picked up his knife and fork, ready to start a new conversation when two voices that he had learned to hate in the time he had spent at the guild.

"LEVYYYYYY!"

His eyes followed where the incessant noise had come from to see Levy's two lap dogs run towards her, the Fatty moving a lot faster than Gajeel had ever thought to be possible. The Speed mage was there in seconds, throwing himself down into the chair opposite Levy despite the death glare that Gajeel was giving him. The fatter of the two slumped into the chair opposite Gajeel, obviously unhappy to be in second place and not being as close to Levy as his partner. Gajeel turned to look at Levy, and knew that he couldn't be mad at them too much as they genuinely did make Levy happy, as was evidenced by the smile that spread across her face. Of course, Gajeel had seen her happier (and of his doing as well), but whatever made Levy happy indirectly made him happy as well. Biting down the bile that rose in his throat as he realised that he had just admitted that the two male members of Shadowgear made him happy, he pretended to be disinterested while secretly listening to their conversation.

"Oh hi there, guys!"

Levy smiled at her team mates, waving her hand at them as they sat down. She pretended not to see the sideward glances they gave to Gajeel when he didn't move from the table, and simply struck up a conversation with them.

"How was the mission? Sorry I couldn't join you, but I had so much translating to do, and they only needed a speed mage anyway so…"

"It's ok, Levy." Jet interrupted her, knowing that she could go on for hours when she felt guilty about leaving them to themselves. He used to love it before she want to Tenrou, but the weeks she spent apologising to them after were something that he never wanted to repeat.

"It went well" added Droy, eying up Gajeel's breakfast with hunger in his eyes. Gajeel growled, the noise barely audible as it echoed in his throat. Despite the quietness of the threat, Droy quickly looked away.

"They basically just needed a messenger to take a letter from Hargeon to Crocus, and get the response back in less than a day. I just spent the day in the port while Jet delivered it for the client."

Levy noticed Jet roll his eyes but decided not to mention it to Droy. It has seemed that Jet and Levy were carrying Droy on the majority of missions since he had gained weight but neither of them were harsh enough to point it out to him.

"Are you planning on going on any team missions with us any time soon, Levy? It feels like years since we all had a trip together."

Both Jet and Droy looked at her in hope as Jet finished his sentence. Missions with just the two of them was fun enough, but they could both tell something was lacking when Levy wasn't there. She never failed to lighten the mood, and always managed to find short cuts in anything they tried to do.

"I've just started learning a new language, and you know how I hate to abandon my language learning in the middle of it to go on missions. I'll come with you as soon as I've mastered it, ok?"

Jet and Droy looked at each other in excitement, they both knew that Levy could master any language within a couple of days so they would be going on a mission with her soon enough. They both tried to ignore the snicker that came out of Gajeel's mouth, him knowing that this particular language would take a couple of years at least. Levy finished off her meal, and placed her cutlery gently on top of her plate.

Just as the conversation lulled, an almighty crash was heard just outside the doors of the Guild. Although the noise would have shocked most normal people, all but the newest guildmembers knew that it was a noise that you just got used to at the hall. Nevertheless, they all looked towards the entrance, if only to see which one of the destructive members had made the noise. The sirens hadn't gone off, so it wasn't Gildarts, but there was so many more members which could have caused the same amount of chaos. The answer was confirmed as soon as a blue cat flew into the building, hiding in the rafters while two men were threw in after him.

"We haven't even entered the hall and you two are still fighting! How do you even do that?"

Erza's voice rang through the hall, as both Natsu and Gray struggled to get up. The look that was shared between them changed from "I bet we could both beat her if we worked together" to "Nope, we are going to die in the foreseeable future" in less than a second flat. Erza walked in behind them, and threw both of them a death glare to make sure that they wouldn't start fighting again. Watching them wilt beneath the gaze, she decided it was safe enough to go to the bar and order a fresh strawberry cake.

Levy looked at the return of Team Natsu, and noticed the person who she most wanted to see right now missing. She turned around to Gajeel, telling him that she would see him at his house after she ran a few errands, waved goodbye to Jet and Droy before running over to Erza.

"Hey Erza, how was the mission?"

The older woman turned away from her cake for a second, working out who had greeted her.

"Oh, hi Levy. It was good, thank you. It went well. It took place entirely on a boat and I forbade Wendy from casting Troia on Natsu so he couldn't destroy too much."

Levy giggled into her hand, knowing from a few misguided missions she had taken with Natsu when they were younger how much he loved to destroy things. She had noticed Wendy slink in behind the rest of the team earlier, obviously still traumatised from both being "talked to" by Erza, and having to watch Natsu suffer without being able to do anything to help him.

"Do you know where Lucy went? I have to… ask her about her novel."

Erza saw immediately through Levy's lie, but knew that there was a good reason for Levy to hide something from her. She had known Levy for years, and if it was something serious she wouldn't hesitate to let everyone know the danger, so this must be something personal.

"I'm pretty sure she headed back home to relax. She had to do quite a bit more work with Natsu out of commission."

Levy thanked her, before turning around and running out of the hall. There had been far too much happen this past few days for her not to go and tell her and get advice.

Gajeel watched Levy run away from the table, and listened into the conversation between her and Erza with interest. The other members of Team Shadowgear just looked after her with confusion, but Gajeel knew that she wanted to find Lucy to try and get some advice on what had happened between the two of them. He would usually mind Levy running away to talk to someone else, but this time he understood that she needed some female advice, and Lucy would be the best person to talk to. She had barely even left the building when he was grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the main hall, barely able to keep a hold on his plate as he went. He turned around to see Cana leading him down into the basement. How she had snuck up on him, he would never know, but he knew that she had been a candidate for S-Class for a reason.

"What the fuck are you doing, Drunkard?"

Cana didn't say anything, simply continuing to drag him further down. When they were a few levels down, she dragged him into a room full of beer barrels before slamming the door behind him and turning the light on.

"Are we far enough down so that Wendy and Natsu can't hear us?"

Gajeel cocked his head to the side, trying as hard as he could to hear any conversations from the hall far above him. He knew that, as the eldest, his senses were more finely attuned and he if he couldn't hear them, they couldn't hear him and Cana all the way down here.

"We're safe, as long as we don't shout too loud. I dunno how loud they're being up there."

Cana pointed her finger to two beer barrels perched opposite each other, with a crude table in between them.

"Sit."

The look on her face told Gajeel not to argue, he didn't know if he would be able to beat her one on one, or even if he would want to battle one of his best friends. He went and balanced himself on the barrel, throwing the remainder of his breakfast down his throat as he did. He really didn't care if Cana found him uncivilised. Cana took a seat opposite him, jabbing a finger into his chest as she did.

"Talk, Gajeel."

Gajeel stared into her eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"What are you talking about, Drunk?"

She leant herself back against a tower of barrels behind her, and scowled at Gajeel.

"I'm talking about the fact that Baby Blue didn't come home last night, and surprise surprise she turned up with you this morning. What did you do to her?"

Gajeel scowled back, showing Cana that she wasn't the only one with a death stare. He didn't understand, the day before she was telling him to accept his feelings and now she was shouting at him for letting Levy spend the night.

"I didn't fuck her, if that's what you mean. She fell asleep reading a book on my sofa so I let her stay the night."

It was only a little lie, right? Even though Cana was one of his best friends, he was still kinda uncomfortable with her knowing that he was teaching Levy Draconic.

Cana let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't had thought that Gajeel would have taken her advice to heart, not with how wary he had been with their relationship so far. She wanted nothing less than for Levy to rush into a relationship too fast, and no matter how much she liked Gajeel, the bond between her and Levy would always be stronger.

"So, why was she at your house reading a book? How do you own a book that she doesn't?"

Gajeel sighed. It looked like he would have to tell her what happened after all.

"Well, after you left with Drunkard Mark II yesterday, how was that by the way?, the Rain Woman came over before she left on her current mission. She convinced me to go and talk to Shorty, and gave me a book to take back to her. When I took the book back, the Shrimp was wearing nothing but her panties at her desk doing translation work."

He paused to see Cana's reaction, but other than a brief flash of surprise, she didn't show much emotion so he continued.

"So, after she got dressed and that, I found out she was researching Dragon Slayers so I invited her to my place cause I have a couple of good books on it. I made her dinner while we were there, and we almost kissed, then she fell asleep."

He had said it so fast, Cana had almost missed it. But after she took a second to process the information as it came into her brain, she finally heard the nugget of information that Gajeel had been trying to hide.

"You nearly kissed her? How did that happen?"

Gajeel cursed himself, he had been trying so hard not to let slip about the nipple piercing that he had made for her that he had forgotten to censor the almost-kiss that had happened between them. He looked away from Cana's inquisitive eyes, before mumbling his response.

"I dunno how it happened. I snuck up on her while she was reading, and kinda got caught in the moment. She didn't seem to resist though, so I guess that's a good thing."

"What stopped you?"

"My fucking cock-blocking cat."

Cana laughed out loud at Gajeel's expression, before it lowered to a chuckle when she saw the serious look on his face.

"So, have you admitted how you feel to her yet?"

Gajeel looked behind him, wanting to lean back but finding nothing there. He settled for leaning forward instead, resting his arms against the table and praying that it wouldn't collapse under his weight.

"Not exactly. I held her hand and stuff earlier, and when she asked what we were I said we could figure it out together."

Cana looked up at him, sighing internally at how even when they admitted it to each other, they still didn't ACTUALLY admit it to each other. She was going to have a hard time getting this one to work.


	9. Chapter 9

Lucy was relaxing in her apartment, water up to her nose in the bath as she tried to ease her aching muscles. Plue was dancing around on the edge of the tub, long since learnt his lesson that he melted away in the hot water. She sighed as she washed down her legs, fingers lingering over the skin at her hips for longer than they strictly needed too. Her hair was piled up with shampoo on the top of her head and she had a clay mask covering her face and neck. It was always good to recuperate after a mission, especially one with Natsu. She was still so torn between hating his constant annoying immaturity, and being madly in love with him. She knew that everyone moaned at Gajeel and Levy being so oblivious, but she was sure that when she and Natsu weren't around they said exactly the same thing about the two of them. She had even seen that they had their own page in the betting pool before Mirajane saw her peeking and chased her away in her Satan Soul. She had made a decision never to try and look in any of Mira's notebooks ever again.

She heard a gentle, rhythmic tapping on her window, and tried desperately to ignore it. Why couldn't anyone use her door? Not that she would have gotten out of the bath any quicker if they had knocked on the door rather than the window. Although it was unusual for someone to knock…

She really did try to ignore it, but as it became more urgent and to the point that Plue had ran to hide shivering in the corner, she was angry and ready to destroy whoever had disturbed her peace. She hastily washed the mask from her face, and the suds from her hair before wrapping a towel around both her body and her hair, picking up a shaking Plue and making her way into her living room.

Levy was sat on what looked like a large "R" outside her apartment, wearing a green halter-neck dress that Lucy had never seen before, and she waved as Lucy came into view. Lucy's anger evaporated to be replaced with confusion, and she made her way over to the window to let her friend in. As soon as the window was open, Levy jumped in and Lucy looked outside just in time to see the word "TOWER" shrinking down as Levy withdrew her magic, until there was nothing visible left outside. She heard Levy's upbeat voice behind her, although she thought she could hear a hint of something underneath…

"Hi, Lu-Chan! Sorry if I disturbed your bath!"

Lucy shut the window to the cold wind outside, and turning back towards her friend, motioned for Levy to take a seat on her sofa. She disappeared back off to the bathroom to throw on a dressing gown, shouting to Levy back in the living room as she did.

"Why does everyone forget that I have a door to my apartment?!"

Levy looked down at her hands in embarrassment before Plue jumped up onto her lap for a cuddle. She took the small dog into her arms, even if she was embarrassed she didn't have the heart to deny him. She didn't think that Lucy would get so annoyed with her entering through the window, it's not like no one else did, anyway.

"I'm sorry, Lu-chan. I just didn't want people to know that I was coming to visit you…"

Lucy walked back into the room, looking at Levy in astonishment. The younger girl was cuddling her Celestial Spirit, looking impossibly small tucked into the corner of the white sofa that took up most of her living room. She took the matching armchair opposite her, it was better for holding conversations if they didn't have to crane their necks to look at each other, and stared right into the bluenette's eyes.

"Levy. What's the matter?"

Levy held back a gasp, inspecting a spot on the back of Plue's head until she had memorised every white hair that lay there. She wasn't stupid enough to think that she would be able to hide her nervousness at the events of the last couple of days from Lucy for that long, but she didn't think that she would bring it up so quickly. Maybe if she just feigned ignorance for a little longer…

"Lu-chan, what makes you think that something is the matter?"

Lucy looked at her friend, almost offended that Levy thought her so stupid that she wouldn't notice that something was up, but she simply attributed it to the way Levy's thoughts were obviously somewhere else. She leaned forward in her chair, resting her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees.

"Because, Levy, you are the most intelligent person I know, quite possibly the most intelligent person on the entire continent, no, the entire planet, and you thought that making a literal tower outside of my room was less noticeable than coming in my door like a normal person. So, throw me a bone here and tell me what has happened. You know that you can trust me, Levy."

Levy sighed, cuddling Plue closer as he shivered in her arms. She never knew what made Plue shiver, was he cold or simply nervous around everything? She would have to ask Lucy some time.

"It's Gajeel."

Lucy was on her feet in seconds, ignoring the fact that her dressing gown fell open at the top and revealed her breasts to Levy. It wasn't like she had never seen them before. Plus, there were more pressing matters at hand. Gajeel had hurt her best friend, muddled up her mind so much that she couldn't think straight. She had seen Gajeel fight before, and it was a terrifying thing, but if he had hurt Levy then he must die, even if she killed herself while she was at it.

"What has he done to you, Levy?"

Levy unwrapped her hands from around Plue and threw them up at Lucy to try and show that there had been some misunderstanding. Plue shivered even more at Lucy's outburst and buried himself in Levy's cleavage.

"He hasn't done anything, Lu-chan. Nothing bad at least. Please calm down!"

Lucy breathed heavily, before wrapping the dressing gown back around herself and sitting daintily on her chair. She leaned forward in her chair, looking at Levy expectantly. It had got to be something good for Levy to have to be so out of sorts. She got up and offered her some tea, and Levy followed her into her apartment's small kitchen.

"Well, where do you want me to start?" Levy asked, leaning against the side of the door as Lucy pottered around to put some boiling water on to heat.

"The beginning is usually the best place to start. Breakfast or Herbal?"

"I think I fancy normal breakfast if you have any. Well, it all started about a year ago, well eight years technically, I was walking down the road with Jet and Droy…"

Her story got interrupted by Lucy throwing a tea bag at her head, and she squealed more from surprise than pain.

"I know that bit, Levy. You're spending too much time around that stupid comedian."

Levy scowled mockingly at Lucy, who threw another couple of tea bags into a teapot, grabbing a couple of cups and saucers from the cupboard. Tea was always such an event at Lucy's, like she never grew out of her posh upbringing.

"Ok, well it all started two days ago. You know that Gajeel has agreed to help me learn how to fight after the whole 'dragons are going to take over the world' thing at the Grand Magic Games?" She waited until Lucy nodded before carrying on. "Well, we were up on the hill training when my shield gave out and Gajeel got me with one of his swords."

Lucy looked at Levy in surprise, stopping what she was doing to stare at her friend.

"Oh my Gosh, Levy, are you OK?"

Levy waved her hand dismissively to tell Lucy to stop worrying and carried on with her story as Lucy turned back to pouring the tea.

"I'm fine, it was a clean cut and it wasn't as deep as we thought it was at first. Anyway, he took me back to his place to clean it up cause I realised that it was going to be in a really awkward place for me to sort it out, and obviously Wendy was out on a job with you guys. Anyway, I had to take my top off for him to take a good luck at it, and then we figured out that the cut had gone under my bra, so that had to come off too…"

Levy stopped speaking as Lucy walked through to the living room, nearly dropping the tray when she found out that Levy had been entirely topless in front of Gajeel. Levy helped her friend to set the tray down on the table, and took a seat on the other end of the sofa to Lucy.

"So you were completely topless in front of him? What did he do? Did he notice the piercing?!"

Lucy winked at her over her tea cup, and Levy knew that it was a mistake thinking that she would be able to glaze over that part quickly. She pulled her legs up onto the sofa in front of her, resting her back against the arm, and let Plue rest in her lap. Lucy didn't tend to mind her stealing her spirit, but she knew that she missed cuddling her mutt sometimes.

"Well, he patched up my wound like he promised to do, then he kind of… licked my piercing. I was freaking out, I thought that he was finally going to admit something, or make a move, but instead he kinda ran away and hid in the kitchen, yelled at me to grab one of his shirts and then I gave up and just left."

Lucy visibly deflated, annoyed at the anti-climactic end to the first part of Levy's story. But she knew that Levy wasn't finished, she wasn't in the depressed mood that something like that would have left her in, so something else must have happened afterwards to bring her mood back up to the level it was at now.

"Go on, Levy. I want to know all of the juicy details."

Levy readjusted her position, letting Plue run across to settle himself on Lucy's lap, obviously preferring the bigger breasts that lay on her torso as a pillow.

"Well, yesterday I just spent a day alone, doing some translation work and all that jazz. I was being really skanky and still wearing Gajeel's shirt, both cause I was being lazy and because pretty depressed and it smelt like him and made me feel better. So, something starts tapping on my window, and after a while, he calls out to me so I know it's him. I start to freak out, because if he walked in while I was wearing his shirt he would think that I am weird. So I threw it across the room and tried to stay as quiet as possible so he didn't think I was there. I thought that I had gotten away with it, but then he did a Natsu and broke into my apartment."

Lucy nearly choked on her tea at the mention of Gajeel breaking into Levy's room. She knew that it was something that Natsu and Wendy did, the number of times she had been woken up by Wendy needing to ask her some girly advice was too many to count on her fingers alone, but she could never have imagined someone as seemingly emotionally distant as Gajeel doing it too.

"Anyway, so I was sitting there at my desk in nothing but my knickers, and he sneaks around the bookshelf and starts talking to me. I started screaming at him and covered myself up, but he just stood in front of me like nothing was out of the ordinary and held a conversation with me while I was sat almost naked at my desk. And then, he told me that he had a present for me…"

"What was it, what was it?" Lucy asked, jumping up and down at the other end of the sofa, almost knocking her tea onto the floor and scaring Plue so much that he disappeared back into the spirit world and left the two girls alone. Levy blushed again, she was hoping that she could just mention that Gajeel had brought her a gift and wouldn't have to explicitly tell Lucy what it was. Instead of trying to explain to her, she simply undid the halter neck of her dress and pulled it down to show her. Lucy almost zoomed forward to look at the piercing going through Levy's nipple and brushed the metal gently.

"Oh my Gosh, Levy it's beautiful! Where did he buy it from?"

Levy blushed at both the compliment and the proximity of Lucy's face to her breast. It was one thing bathing together and seeing each other naked, but another for them to be so close to one another.

"He didn't buy it, he made it for me."

Lucy sat back up, and Levy recovered her chest. Lucy gave her a pointed look, and Levy knew what was going to come next.

"And you are still too nervous to confess your attraction to him? He made you a nipple piercing out of his own iron! That's almost like him making it out of his own body! You are wearing Gajeel's body in your nipple!"

Both of the girls cringed as they realised the implications of what Lucy said. It sounded so weird when she worded it like that.

"Anyway…" Levy said, trying to get her mind off what Lucy had implied. "So I offered to make him some tea, and while I was gone he found the book that I was using to research Dragon Slayers."

Lucy giggled, knowing exactly the book that Levy was talking about. She was planning on borrowing it after Levy had finished.

"So did you tell him that you were researching to see if Dragon Slayers mated like humans or more like Dragons?!"

Levy waved her hands in front of her face again, trying to hide the blush that was recovering her face.

"No no no, I didn't tell him the truth. He didn't even ask why I was reading it, he just told me that it was full of lies and invited me back to his place for dinner and to have a look at some of his books." She ignored the 'Ooo' coming from Lucy as she mentioned dinner and carried on. "So, I went to get changed into normal clothes, and put on those thigh-high boots with those denim shorts I bought last summer, and I was still riding on the high of him walking in on me naked so I put his piercing in, and dropped my old piercing on the table right next to his head."

At the end of the tale, Levy had her hands covering her eyes, not wanting to see Lucy's reaction to the bold movement she had made.

"Go Levy!" she heard Lucy shout and peered through her fingers to see her with both fists raised in the air. "I never knew you were such a little minx!"

Levy grabbed a pillow to hide behind and shoved her head into it, turning her whole body so she was facing away from Lucy. She knelt on her knees and leaned over the side of the chair. Lucy tugged on the hemline of her dress, trying to get her to return and tell the rest of her story. She hated just how cute Levy was when she was embarrassed, how any guy could turn her down she would never know. Finally, she managed to get Levy to turn around. The blush still covered her face, and she cuddled the cushion to her chest but at least she was back up to talking.

"So I ended up at his place, and he found all of his books out for me, but I didn't know the language so he gave me a dictionary that he had made when he was younger and learning Fiorian. So I started trying to learn enough to read some of his books when he snuck up on me again and trapped me next to the desk. I asked him to speak some Draconic to me, and it was so beautiful, Lucy, I can't even explain. Just the cadence, and the way the words flowed from each other, just that alone would be enough for me to fall in love with Gajeel all over again. But then, just as I thought it couldn't get any better, he turned me around in his chair and he went to kiss me! He leaned forward and closed his eyes, and we were the closest we have ever been Lucy!"

At this point Lucy was leaning so far forward she was nearly on Levy's lap. She had said that she wanted all of the juicy gossip, but she had never thought that Levy would actually have gone ahead and kissed Gajeel. At some point in the tail, Levy had grabbed onto her hands and was now shaking them in the pure excitement her memories brought her.

"So, did you kiss him? What did you do?!"

Levy looked disappointed, and Lucy almost wished that she didn't ask, obviously something went wrong.

"I really wanted to, Lucy, I promise you I did, but then Lily called us downstairs for dinner and it kind of ruined the moment."

Lucy threw her hands up in the air, falling back onto the arm of the sofa in annoyance. She wasn't even there, and she could sense the sexual tension that must have been in the air while they were having dinner. Levy looked at the blonde, close to yelling at her that she had no grounds to be so frustrated.

"Anyway, moving on from the major disappointment thanks to Lily, Gajeel offered to read some of the Dragonslayer books to me, and after I settled down on the couch he started reading me some of the old stories that he was read as a child. And then the next thing I knew, I was tucked up in Gajeel's bed."

Lucy screamed in excitement, and Levy was confused for a second before figuring out how it must have sounded when she said she was in Gajeel's bed.

"No Lu-Chan! That's not what I meant! I was in Gajeel's bed, but he wasn't in there with me! He slept in Lily's bed!"

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the bluenette's rushed explanation as she became more and more flustered at the thought of her and Gajeel sleeping in the same bed. How could this be the same woman who teased Gajeel with her nipple piercing now she was so embarrassed at any thought of sex?

"Levy, I am going to ask you a kind of personal question. Have you got any experience in the bedroom?"

Levy gasped at Lucy's forwardness, not knowing how to answer the question. She squirmed further towards her end of the sofa, redness returning to her cheeks as she thought of the implications of her question. She knew that some of the other girls in the guild were a lot more experienced than she was, but she had always kept her secrets close to her chest when it came to her sexual exploits.

"I've never gone, you know, all the way…"

Lucy shifted her entire body further along the sofa towards Levy, knowing that an interesting tale was coming along. Levy looked down at her fingers in her lap, not wanting to look Lucy in the eye while she told her story. She knew that she could trust Lucy and that she wouldn't tell anyone else without permission from Levy herself.

"Before you came to the guild, Jet and I got really drunk and things kind of… happened. I didn't have sex with him, we just kind of fumbled around a bit in his flat. The next morning we both kinda promised that we would never talk about it again. I never really felt anything for him, it was nothing more than two drunk kids messing around."

Lucy looked at her in shock, amazed at what Levy had just told her. She had never imagined Levy doing anything with Jet or Droy, not even kissing them. She had always thought that the adoration that the two male members of Shadowgear showered Levy with was unrequited. Still, she couldn't help opening her mouth and saying the first thing that came into her mind.

"You fucked Jet?!"

Levy pushed Lucy backwards, puffing her cheeks out in irritation.

"I literally just said that I didn't fuck him. Were you not listening? I just tossed him off and he fingered me, we didn't go any further than that."

Lucy stared a Levy in silence, before bursting out into laughter at Levy's course words. Levy stared back at her for a few seconds, before she couldn't help it anymore and started laughing back. They sat and giggled for a moment, Lucy still lying on her back, before Levy stopped laughing and looked at her.

"Something else happened this morning. When we left the house this morning, Gajeel put his arm around me. He didn't say anything, just put it there. Then he held my hand. When I asked him what was going on, he said he didn't know what we were, but we could find out together."

Lucy looked at Levy, the bluenettes face the most concerned she had seen it since she came through her window. Levy's very analytical mind obviously didn't like not knowing exactly what was happening between her and Gajeel. She sat back up and took the younger girls hand in hers.

"Gajeel isn't the kind of person to tell you categorically how he feels about you. He's not a man of many words, you of all people know that. He's showing you how he feels through his actions rather than through his words."

Levy nodded, she knew that anyway but hearing it coming from someone else's mouth made it sink in further.

"I just don't know how to respond to him. I want him to notice me properly, I want to be more than just a friend to him. But no matter how much I try and flirt with him, it never works. I expected him to jump me when he found my piercing, but that didn't work. I showed him that I had put his own piercing in, and he still didn't respond. What do I have to do to make him lose control and just take me?"

Lucy sat in thought for a moment, tapping her finger impatiently against her chin. After a few taps, she jumped up and made her way to the kitchen.

"Lu-chan! Where are you going?"

Lucy walked back in, communication lacrima in hand. She shot Levy an evil grin.

"I'm calling in the reinforcements."

Gajeel sat opposite Cana, slowly realizing that he hadn't seen her drink a drop of alcohol that morning. It was most definitely the longest time he had seen her go without intaking any alcohol at all. Now he realised it, the normal overwhelming smell of alcohol had receded slightly, and he could detect a hint of cinnamon underneath.

"Why are you not drinking, drunkard?"

Cana shrugged, kicking one of the barrels off to the side casually.

"I was too worried about Levy to drink too much this morning and too distracted by you and her coming in earlier to get any then either. I could probably do with some now, though…"

Gajeel watched her from his chair as she picked up a barrel from behind her, inspecting the label for a few seconds before popping off the cork and taking a swig. She looked at Gajeel to see if he wanted any but he waved his hands in dismissal.

"Suit yourself." She sat back down in her chair and placed her feet up on the table, taking a few swigs from her barrel before looking at Gajeel.

"So, when are you going to take the next step?"

Gajeel glared at her, not really wanting to discuss his sex life this early in the morning. Before Levy, he wouldn't mind telling anyone and everyone that would listen about his conquests (and people would listen, if he told him to. No one was stupid enough to deny Gajeel back then) but there was something special about her. Something told him that the relationship that existed between him and Levy was something that he couldn't share, couldn't even put into words.

But he knew something that no one else in the guild knew, not even Lily. He knew that Wendy wouldn't have noticed it yet, and he was pretty sure that Natsu hadn't experienced it either.

"Cana, can I tell you something? I need some advice from someone who knows Levy well."

Cana looked up at him, wondering what he wanted to know from her. She knew that she was one of the best advice givers in the Guild, but she also definitely knew that Gajeel wasn't someone to admit that he needed help.

"I really do want to take things further with Levy, but I'm scared."

Cana looked up at him, almost dropping her barrel in the process, amazed that Gajeel had admitted that he was actually scared of something.

"Gajeel, what can you be scared of? You know she likes you, everyone in the guild knows that."

Gajeel played with a splinter on the table, pushing it around in front of him in meaningless circles. The dragon had never affected him in this way before, any other girl he went after he didn't care if the dragon came out, didn't care if he hurt them. Why would he? He just fucked them and threw them to the side the next morning. They meant less than nothing to him.

"You see, when you become a dragon slayer, a part of your soul splits off and becomes it's own entity. You become both human and dragon at the same time, two souls existing in the same body. The dragon soul only really comes into affect at times of extreme emotion; anger, sadness and lust. It helps us when we fight, you've seen the dragon force, but it also comes out when we want to fuck. It makes us more animalistic, and makes gentle sex an impossibility. If I want to have sex with anyone, it has to be rough and painful. Well, painful for them anyway. I don't want to hurt Levy anymore. Not again."

Cana looked at him through his explanation, not even taking a break to sip from her drink. Gajeel's face went through it's normal blank expression, through concern and finally to pain. She could see how much it had been bothering him, and from previous drunken conversations, she knew the guilt he still felt at the Phantom Lord incident which now seemed so long ago.

"Have you ever tried to have gentle sex? How do you know you can't do it?"

Gajeel shook his head, still staring down at where he was making splinters in the table with his nails. Even though they weren't metal, they were strong enough to tear up the wood anyway.

"It takes over before we even get to the sex part. I can be kissing them, not even with my hands in her pants, before the dragon takes over. There's no choice for my human soul."

They sat in silence for a little longer, both contemplating what he had just said. Gajeel lamented all the times he had wanted to go to the next stage with Levy his dragon had started to take over, and he had run away from the situation as soon as possible. Cana was still debating the fact that Wendy had two souls shoved into her tiny body, and made a mental note to ask Bickslow about the situation later on in the day. Could he see both of them or only the one in charge?

"I don't know, Gajeel. I don't have any advice to give you. All I can suggest is telling Levy, talking it over with her so she can make her own decision. You never know, she might like that kind of thing."

Gajeel gave Cana an annoyed look, there was no way the sweet and innocent Levy would be a sadist. He knew that she was a virgin, he could smell it. He didn't want her first time to be any more painful that it needed to be. He was about to open his mouth to Cana before he heard a beep coming from Cana's bag, and she rummaged around in it before she pulled out a card.

"Huh. Lucy's calling me."

Cana stared at the words that quickly flashed across the card, and a smile spread across her face.

"Well, Gajeel, it's been nice talking to you, but I have to offer some girly help to your girlfriend."

She stood up from her chair and went to make her way out of the room to head back upstairs when Gajeel grabbed her arm. Suppressing a gasp, she turned around to see that Gajeel was still staring at the table.

"Cana Alberona. If you dare mention anything said in this room to anyone else, I will track you down and make you experience such unimaginable pain you will pray for death. And don't think your Daddy will save you either. I know how to hide a body so well that it will never be found."

If the use of her full name didn't tip her off, Gajeel's tone told her that he was serious. Even the bonds that held Fairy Tail together wouldn't stop Gajeel for tearing her limb from limb.

"You have my word, Gajeel Redfox."

They stood in silence for a couple more seconds, the bonds of the spoken promise strengthening, before Gajeel let go of Cana and she continued her journey to get the details from Levy.

Gajeel emerged from the cellar about ten minutes later, after having wallowed in his thoughts in the silence that it afforded him. As soon as he emerged into the light, blinking while his pupils adjusted.

"Gajeel! We have been looking for you everywhere!"

He whipped his head around to the source of the noise and found Lily making his way towards him, with a dejected looking Jet and Droy following slightly behind him. Lily flew himself up onto the bar to even the height difference between them, before staring down Jet and Droy so they wouldn't leave.

"Me and these two decided to go on a mission together, we'll be gone for about a week. I'm gonna swing back home for some clothes and we'll head off straight after that."

Gajeel looked between the three of them, figuring out straight away that it was neither Jet or Droy's decision to go out on a mission. The realisation that Lily had done this to help Gajeel get together with Levy came soon after. But, while it was in front of him, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess around with Levy's two lapdogs.

"So, Speedy and friend, are you looking forward to the mission?"

They shared a look between them, and Gajeel was sure he could hear them gulp, before both turning and nodding.

"Come on, Jet, we had better go and pack for the mission. Uh, see you later, I guess."

Gajeel could sense the nervousness in his voice, and he had never seen Droy move so quickly as he made his way out of the guild. Lily simply gave Gajeel a wink, before following his new teammates.


	10. Chapter 10

Levy had moved onto the single chair at the end of the coffee table in anticipation of the arrival of the backup. Whenever they held meetings at Lucy's house before, she had been the last one to arrive and had been forced to squeeze into the middle of everyone on the sofa. Now that she was there first, she would take one of the best spots in the room. The chair was big and allowed her to curl up fully, and was padded out with various cushions that Lucy had collected through the time she had lived in the apartment. She watched as Lucy pottered around to get everything ready, throwing snacks together and cooking up cheese dips for a few tortilla crisps she had. She chatted inanely with Levy as she did, but Levy didn't mind. The topic had finally moved away from her love life and she was taking the chance at a rest while it was there. Lucy lamented the fact that she didn't have any alcohol, knowing that it would be the first thing that Cana asked as soon as she walked through the door.

"She's been at the guildhall all morning, I imagine she's drank quite a lot already. Plus she knows that a lot of us don't drink a lot so she usually brings it with her to these meetings."

Lucy hmm'd at Levy's answer, before preparing a large pot of tea and setting it down in the centre of the coffee table. She laid out six tea cups and saucers, before throwing herself down and relaxing on the sofa, obviously not fully recovered from the big job she had just come off.

Juvia and Lisanna turned up first, fresh from the mission they had just taken together. As they walked in, they both admitted that they had just popped into the Strauss house and Fairy Hills before walking over to Lucy's to take part in the meeting. They settled down on each end of the sofa and chatted amongst themselves about the mission they had just finished. They complained about the way the anticipated smooth mission turned out, but after a while, they conceded that it was also a lot of fun.

"Juvia never thought that Bickslow would be so fun to take a mission with. And Juvia bets Lisanna-san didn't even have the smallest of inklings about the way it would…"

Her sentence was cut off short when Lisanna practically jumped her from the other side of the sofa and covered Juvia's mouth with her hand. Juvia squirmed for a second, before turning to water and dribbling out from underneath her, Lisanna squabbling at the liquid to try and take her revenge of almost having her secret revealed.

"Juvia!" Lucy squealed as she came back in from the kitchen with some more nibbles. "What have I told you about turning into water on my furniture! It takes such an effort to dry out!"

Juvia re-solidified back on the sofa, and tried her best to reabsorb the water from the sofa back into herself and hoped that Lucy wouldn't notice that the cushions were still slightly damp.

"Sorry, Lucy-san. Juvia keeps forgetting."

Lucy couldn't stay mad for long as Juvia squirmed in her seat and played with her fingers, looking genuinely apologetic. Lucy knew that it was a total reflex for Juvia and that she couldn't always help herself.

"It's ok, Juvia. Just try to remember for next time, ok?"

Levy was always slightly jealous at how Juvia's smile seemed to light up the room, especially if it had changed from her being gloomy moments before. The effect was always amplified by the fact that the clouds outside would dissipate, and the sun would shine through. In a way, she hoped that Juvia never worked out how to control the weather in case it took away those little moments of happiness.

They fell into back into small talk as they waited for the others to turn up. Mira was the first one to make it, still wearing her work clothes from her day at the guild. She greeted everyone with a warm hug, before settling herself down between Lisanna and Juvia with a cup of Earl Grey that Lucy provided her with. She asked her sister how her mission had been, and the fact that Lisanna kept shooting death glare at Juvia didn't go over her head. She would have to question her sister at a later time when she was less likely to be embarrassed by the group of people and more likely to tell her the truth about what had actually happened. She had noticed that Bickslow and her sister had been spending more time together recently, but the slight blush which covered her sisters face when she talked about Bickslow definitely told her more than words ever could.

The last to arrive was Cana, stumbling her way through the door, and proving Levy's idea that she would have drunk at the guild. In fact, the way she swayed proved that she had consumed heavily since Levy had walked out earlier. She threw herself down on the arm of the sofa next to Juvia, and declined Lucy's offer of tea, indicating that she had all that she needed in her small bag before pulling out a hip flask and taking a swig.

Lucy stood up from the end chair, cleared her throat and addressed the gathered girls.

"Welcome to today's meeting of the Ladies of Fairy Tail. Erza, Evergreen and Bisca send their apologies, but they are all away on missions. I didn't invite Wendy or Laki, Wendy because she is too young for today's discussion, and Laki because… Is it only me or is she terrifying to anyone else?"

There was a murmur of agreement throughout the room, but no one came out and actually said anything. After Lucy waited what she decided was an adequate time for a response, she continued.

"The reason I called this meeting is because of Levy" she pointed to the bluenette, who was desperately fighting the urge to hide her face in her hands. Lucy didn't seem to care and just carried on with her introductions.

"Levy is having a little bit of difficulty with her love life, and we are going to have to pool our collective experience as to how to help her."

Mira clapped happily, nearly squealing in surprise. She knew that there was something going on between the two, but now they might actually be doing something about it.

"Levy, I am so excited! You're finally going to tell him that you like him?!"

Everyone looked at each other in happiness, and Lisanna and Mira even hugged each other in elation. Levy's blush simply deepened, and she drew her knees up to her chest to try and hide herself away as best she could.

"Guys, how do you even know who Lucy is talking about? I haven't even told anyone here who he is yet."

Everyone stopped their celebrations and looked at Levy in astonishment. Cana and Juvia started giggling, Cana's laugh deep and hearty while Juvia's sounded like the tinkling of falling rain. Lisanna leant across Mira towards Levy and put her hand on the arm of the chair.

"Levy, honey, it's obvious we're talking about Gajeel. I think we've all known longer than you have."

Levy's face grew into a mortified expression as the rest of the girls joined in with the giggles, and she knew that they were all directed at her. Seeing how ashamed she was, everyone held in their laughter, and Lucy opened up the floor to recommendations.

"So, does anyone have any suggestions as to what Levy should do to get her man? Levy, you choose who you want to hear from first."

Everyone jumped up and down, excited to get their ideas out in the open first. Levy cringed, before thinking through logically who would have the best idea. Cana seemed to spend a lot of time with Gajeel, and out of everyone in the room she was the only one in a relationship. Mirajane seemed to have the most experience out of everyone, but the person who she thought to be the most use was Juvia. After all, she had known Gajeel the longest, and Levy knew that, even though he didn't admit it, Gray had totally fallen for her cuteness.

"Juvia, what's your idea?"

The other bluenette immediately lost her sense of excitement when she realised that everyone was looking at her and she was put on the spot. She really didn't like being in the spotlight, and right now everyone around her was looking straight at her.

"Well, Juvia knows that Gajeel-kun really loves his food, and they say that the way to a mans heart is through his stomach so Juvia thinks that Levy-san should make Gajeel-kun a nice romantic meal."

There was a murmur of appreciation that made it's way around the room before Levy raised her hand slightly.

"Although I think that that would be a wonderful idea in normal circumstances, Juvia, I have a confession to make."

Cana tittered to herself. She had known Levy for the longest, and she had realised something that no one else had yet.

"Levy can't cook for shit!" she yelled, letting everyone into the secret that Levy had hoped she could tell everyone in a subtle and non-embarrassing way. Everyone else joined in with the giggling, remembering the one thing that Levy didn't seem to excel at. There were many times where all of the girls had to stand outside Fairy Hills in the rain after they had been evacuated due to the disaster of Levy's cooking.

"Don't worry, Levy-san, Juvia can teach you how to cook something! She knows all of Gajeel's favourite food, and Levy-san can make some little pieces of iron to put into it!"

Levy's face lit up, thinking through all of the possibilities of a romantic meal together. Gajeel had made her a meal before, and the atmosphere had been like a little family. With a few candles, and the right lighting maybe she could turn that into a romantic mood…

"Erm, Juvia, aren't you forgetting something?"

Levy was wrenched out of her daydream by Lucy staring at Juvia and posing her question. There were confused faces around the room as to what Juvia might be forgetting.

"You can't seriously tell me you've forgotten that time when you destroyed half of Fairy Hills when you tried to cook a cake for Gray?!"

The dawn of realisation hit everyone at once, how the memories of having to spend a couple of weeks without a kitchen in Fairy Hills was just too painful in their minds. It hadn't really affected Levy directly, but the moaning from the other girls was almost as annoying to her as the lack of cooking facilities was annoying to the others. Juvia's face fell, she had tried desperately hard to forget the disaster. She stared down at her lap while she played with her fingers. Lisanna patted her knee gently to try and comfort her, but she still remained quiet.

"You know what you can do, Levy? You can take him out for a night on the town, get a few drinks down ya and have a decent night of drinking and loving."

Levy blushed at Cana's crude words and watched the brunette take another swig out of her hip flask. It shouldn't have been a surprise to her that Cana was going to suggest something around alcohol but she never knew that she was going to be so… lewd about it. She was going to let everyone in on another secret, but once again someone beat her to it.

"Cana, can't you remember the last party in the guild where Levy drank heavily?"

Mira's voice was as sweet as honey, almost as if she hadn't meant to remind Levy of that embarrassing night.

"What? I've never seen Levy drink before, what happened?!"

Levy sighed as she remembered that Lucy hasn't been in the guild the last time she drank somewhat heavily. The sparkle in Mira's eyes increased three-fold as she realised that there was now a chance to re-tell the story that she hadn't recalled in so long.

"Well, someone had just joined the Guild… I think it was Bisca… and as you know we always throw a huge party whenever we get a new member. Anyway, I was behind the bar and serving out drinks so I got a front row seat to the show."

Lucy looked over at Levy, who now had her face buried in one of her cushions as Cana took over the story.

"I had started up a drinking game that I like to call I Have Never Truth or Dare. Basically, it's the same rules as truth or dare, but you drink if you have done that person's truth or their dare. For example, if I asked Mira if she had ever given someone a blow-job, and she said yes, everyone who had given a blowjob in the circle would have to drink."

"ANYWAY," Mira shouted over Cana, making everyone jump in shock. She could turn her Satan Soul's voice on even if she didn't fully transform.

"A certain someone who may or may not be in this room dared Levy to table dance on the bar. I never thought that she would do it, Levy's always been super shy, but up on the bar she got. With a little help from Elfman of course."

Cana had recovered from the shock enough to take over the story from Mira again, and interrupted before Mira could skimp on any of the finer details of the story.

"Let's just say that I never knew such a bookworm knew how to bump and grind. I couldn't help myself, I had to get up there with her. You haven't seen the full extent of Levy's ass until you have it rubbing up against your…"

"Stop, Stop, Stop! Levy yelled from her chair, her face so red that she was surprised that she hadn't burst a blood vessel yet. Cana looked a little crestfallen but respected her friends wish anyway.

"I don't want to be reminded of that night! I can't recollect most of it anyway and I think I prefer it like that!"

Cana and Mira snickered as they remembered what else had occurred that night, something that Levy and Jet thought was a secret between them and them alone. Too bad Cana's cards had broken that secret almost as soon as it had happened.

"Lu-chan, what do you think I can do?"

The blonde tapped her chin in thought for a couple of seconds, before an idea bloomed across her face like a sunrise.

"You know, there's the annual Magnolia dance coming up soon! You can take Gajeel there, and when you're both twirling around on the dance floor you can broach the subject with him subtly. I probably wouldn't suggest a repeat of the bar dancing, though…"

Lucy had never thought that Levy would be able to throw a cushion with that much force, but it turned out that she could and it knocked Lucy backwards in her chair. Levy, however, took it in her stride.

"That might be alright for you, Lu, but I really can't dance. I have two left feet and my sense of rhythm is practically non-existent. I can pick up a bit of a beat after a couple of drinks, but you've just heard how well that goes down…"

She ignored a chuckle from the girls as Lucy gained a sparkle in her eye that rivaled Mira's.

"I could teach you! You know how the entire guild had that dance lesson from me? We have a couple of weeks left before the dance, and I could totally teach you the basics of dancing in that time! If I teach you enough we can maybe disguise the fact that you don't have any rhythm, and if your ass moves like Cana says it does I don't see how Gajeel could say no!"

Ignoring the snarky comment, Levy wrung her hands in front of her, not sure how she could explain to her best friend just how bad she was at dancing.

"I dunno, Lu, you haven't quite seen me dance and it really is a disaster…"

"I hate to break you two love birds up, but I think we are forgetting something here."

Everyone looked over to Cana as she shouted a little louder than she anticipated. The liquor in the bottle that Bacchus had given her appeared to be a little stronger that she had first thought.

"There is no way in hell that Gajeel is going to agree to go to a dance, even if it is you and your sexy ass that's inviting him, Levy."

The three girls on the sofa nodded in agreement at Cana's words. Out of all the people in the guild, the person they were least likely to see at a dance was definitely Gajeel. Even Laxus had been known to turn up at a dance or two if it meant that he would be the centre of attention there.

Lucy visibly deflated, annoyed that she hadn't seen such an obvious obstacle to her plan. It wasn't just Levy that she would have to teach to dance, it was Gajeel as well. And there was no way that she was going to be able to bring that up in conversation easily.

"Does anyone else have any bright ideas?" Levy asked, hoping that she would be free of everyone staring at her and suggesting what she could do to seduce Gajeel. She really hated being the centre of attention, and this situation was one of the worst. Her hopes were dashed when Lisanna raised her hand, almost bursting with excitement that she finally had her turn to tell everyone her idea.

"Why don't you go on a mission with him? You can spend some time together, just you and him, and there's nothing like a sense of excitement and danger to get the blood pumping."

The girls all nodded at each other. They had all been on a mission with someone that they had a crush on, and there was nothing like being tackled out of the way of danger by the man of your dreams.

"But what kind of mission would we go on? The jobs that I usually do aren't at all interesting to Gajeel, and his jobs are far too dangerous for me."

Mira laid her hand on Levy's leg and turned on the highest percentage of honey in her voice that she could muster. Even though she had an idea of her own, which she definitely wanted to be the one that was chosen because it was the most fun by far, she always had to support her little sister. It was almost like an automatic reflex, like breathing.

"Of course, they're not too dangerous for you, have you forgotten that you were one of the mages chosen for S-Class?"

Levy looked at Mira in disbelief. Sure she had been chosen for S-Class, but everyone in the room knew that it was for her intelligence rather than her fighting ability. Mira sank back in her chair when she realised her attempt to sweeten up Levy had failed miserably.

"Why don't you chose a translation mission far away, and tell Gajeel that you need protection from Bandits while you're traveling there? I think I saw a translation job way out west, and you know what the road over there is like!"

The girls all nodded to each other, and in the moment of silence, they could hear a small tittering coming from the end of the sofa. Looking around, they saw Juvia desperately clasping her hands over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"Juvia, what's the matter?" Cana asked, leaning uncomfortably close to the bluenette and trying to see if there was something visible that she was laughing at.

"Lisanna-san, you have some recent experience with finding a relationship out of a mission haven't you?"

This time, it was Lisanna's turn to blush, and the red spread all the way down to her chest. Levy saw her predicament and passed her one of the pillows over to the younger white-haired girl who quickly hid her face in it as she laid herself back fully on the sofa.

Mira started to squeal and turned around to her sister. She hadn't wanted to do this in the company of everyone else, but the chance to embarrass Lisanna was just far too tempting. That was the thing about the eldest of the family. Even though you wanted to protect your siblings with your life, if necessary, it was also incredibly hilarious to tease them at every opportunity you had.

"I can't believe my baby sister has found love! And let me just tell you, I am fully supportive of the both of you. I don't think that Elfman will be… but I'll talk to him for you!"

Lisanna tried to curl herself up into an even smaller ball before Mira decided that she had done enough of the family embarrassment and turned around to Levy.

"So, Levy, it looks like we have saved the best til last."

Everyone looked at Mira as the sparkle returned to her eyes, and her face appeared to glow. There was nothing that Mira loved more than playing match-maker with her guildmates. She took a deep breath before diving head first into her explanation.

"Working behind the bar, I see a lot of things. I spend a lot of time looking at the members of the guild, and by doing that, you begin to learn things. And one of the things that is blindingly obvious, is the way that Gajeel stares at your ass."

Cana whooped in agreement, and Juvia nodded quietly. The knowledge was obviously not as sacred as Mira thought it had been. Despite the fact that everyone already knew Mira's secret, she carried on.

"I think we need to take you on a girly shopping trip and get you some new outfits. Outfits that will drive Gajeel mad."

Levy thought to herself. He had reacted amazingly to the shorts she had worn the other day, so maybe the idea had some traction behind it. And if nothing else, a day out with the girls never failed to make her giggle.

"Alright, Mira. It sounds like a plan. I have a bit of money left from the insane amount of work that I have been getting."

A murmur of appreciation made it's way around the room, everyone loved the occasional shopping trips that they went on. And this one would be Erzaless, which was bound to make it a little less tense.

"Let's go SHOPPING!" Cana yelled, before almost running out of the flat. The other's shared a look between them, before sighing and standing up to follow her.


	11. Chapter 11

A few hours after the girls had set out from Lucy's apartment, Elfman was immediately thrown out of his family home to allow the girls into the larger space to complete the obligatory fashion show which always followed the girl's shopping trips. The favourite location for this was always the Strauss house, it being the biggest house out of almost everyone in the guild. Mira had made a lot of money in her old S-Class days, and had made enough to buy the large house on the outskirts of Magnolia within a few months of being granted the honour. After the incident with Lisanna, she had continued making enough money from working behind the bar at the guild to keep up with the payments until it was fully paid off just before they disappeared for the seven years on Tenrou Island, to the relief of the siblings. They were one of the few people without an insane amount of back rent to make up after their 7 lost years. The upper floor seemed to be always under construction since the Grand Magic Games, Mira and Lisanna was constantly remodelling the rooms something that no one quiet knew what with all the money that they had made from the jobs that they had taken together. With three wizards of the skill and power of the Strauss siblings, they took on a lot of the high paying jobs. Cana had tied asking Elfman what they were doing with the upper floors once, but he didn't seem to have a single clue. It was tough being the only male in a house constantly full of girls, apparently. Lisanna and Mira was just as secretive to all the others in the guild, whenever the building works were mentioned they just looked at each other and giggled. It seemed like it was a little private fact that they wanted to keep between themselves.

The six girls made their way into the large living room, and threw the shopping bags down on the sofa closest to the door. Mira and Lisanna immediately dashed into the kitchen and set about making drinks and snacks. Shopping with the intensity that they did was very thirsty work, and Lucy and Cana busied themselves pushing all of the furniture to the sides of the large room and moving the long pale blue rug which normally graced the hallway into the centre of the living room to make their makeshift runway. Levy and Juvia both threw themselves onto the sofa as soon as they were out of the way, sighing in exhaustion. Neither of them were used to shopping as hard as the other girls were, and Levy rested her head on Juvia's shoulder.

"I feel… strangely assaulted."

Juvia patted the younger girls head and wrapped her arm around her back. It was hard to dislike Levy, and the relationship that Gajeel seemed to have with her told Juvia that she was not a bad person at all. Years of being in the same guild as Gajeel taught her that he was a better judge of character than anyone she had ever met. The only problem with him in his past was when he decided to align with those with a questionable character…

"Juvia feels sorry for you Levy. Juvia would have hated to have everyone pick and choose her clothes like that. You must be really tired"

Levy nodded her head on Juvia's shoulder, and watched as the other girls clattered back and forth to get ready for the make shift cat walk. Levy had never been in one of them before, but she was hoping that it wasn't as difficult as it looked, and that she didn't fall over immediately and embarrass herself. She had almost tripped in some of the stores that she was being dragged through, and she didn't want a repeat of it on the cat walk. She was more than a little glad that the other girls had decided against the stiletto's that they had found in the first store they visited. Her feet hurt enough as it was with all the traipsing around the shops they had done that day.

"You just wait, Juvia. Next time I am going to make them do a make over on you."

Juvia pushed Levy off her shoulder and looked at her with a mix of fear and disgust.

"Please don't, Levy-san. Juvia didn't want to upset you, Juvia just wanted to help Levy-san with Gajeel-kun."

Levy giggled and grasped a hold of Juvia's hands.

"I'm just joking, Juvia! I will never do that to you. I cannot necessarily guarantee that I will stop the others from doing it to you, though."

Juvia managed a half smile at Levy, but that was all. She couldn't blame Levy entirely, Juvia had taken a back seat and allowed the others to drag Levy around, after all.

"Alright, Ladies. Who's first?!"

The two bluenettes were shocked out of their discussions by Mira making an announcement to the entire room. Both Levy and Juvia shrank back into the sofa. Rather predictably, Lucy and Cana both jumped up at the opportunity to show off the outfits that they had purchased. They were always one of the first to change into their outfits and do the show whenever they went out shopping. The both of them sorted through the bags to find the clothes that they had purchased and ran upstairs together.

The remaining girls made themselves comfortable around the end of the make shift runway and grabbed their drinks. Levy grabbed some iced coffee that Lisanna had made, Lisanna made hands down the best coffee of anyone in the guild and settled herself beside Juvia to get ready for the show.

Cana appeared first, heels cluttering down the stairs. How she could walk on those things while drunk, Levy would never know. She came around the corner and put slightly more swagger into her walk than she had before. She was wearing black heels with ribbons which wrapped around her ran legs and tied slightly below her knees and pinstripe shorts which fell about an inch above where the bows were tied. Her t-shirt was white and fell down to below the hem of her trousers. Emblazoned across the front was a large slogan, reading "Booze, Shoes and Boys with Tattoos". Cana had seen it and immediately known that it had to be hers. She staggered her way up to the front of the catwalk, and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it off over her head. While the shirt made it's way across the living room, and the Strauss sisters whooped, Levy could see that Cana's trousers rode low on her hips, and underneath she wore a flowered halter-neck bikini top. It really was like Cana to wear barely nothing, so it didn't shock Levy that much. Cana really did have the boobs to pull it off, Levy would have worn more revealing clothing if she had anything more than her completely flat chest. She did a little twirl, barely tumbling as she showed off the whole of her outfit. The bikini top was only held up by a couple of tiny strings, and Levy wondered how easy it was to break those strings. Not that she would do it, but she knew that there were a lot of people in the guild who would. Especially after a couple of drinks. Cana slowly made her way out of the room, tagging out with Lucy as she went.

As Cana left the room, Lucy turned around the corner of the door in a well-practiced move. She was wearing skin tight white jeans, under a matching white crop top and over some white, heeled court shoes. She made her way seductively up to the front of the cat walk, and slowly turned around to give everyone a good view of the outfit she was wearing. She stretched her arms above her head, pulling her top up slightly so the top rolled up over the bottom of her breasts. That girl really knew how to drive guys crazy. Maybe that's who she needed to talk to about getting Gajeel…

"Are you going to follow Cana's example and take that off?"

Everyone in the room jumped and turned around to look at the entrance to the kitchen. Loke was stood, leaning against the door frame and eating from a large bag of popcorn. Lucy screamed, before reaching for her keys that weren't there. Instead, she just stamped her foot on the floor.

"Really, Loke? Why do you always turn up when I never call you!"

Loke walked over, and sat himself down on the sofa next to Mira, wrapping his arm around her. Mira just smiled, knowing that Loke would never try anything funny with her, not after what happened to him the last time.

"There is no way I am missing an opportunity to see all you lovely ladies showing off your lovely bodies. Also, I can totally give you opinions on what Levy can wear to drive Gajeel absolutely wild."

Levy jumped in her seat, turning herself around to face Loke directly.

"Loke! How do you know about that?!"

Loke simply leaned back, tugging slightly on Mira's shoulder to pull her back with him. He used his spare hand to tap his nose, before winking over at Levy.

"I know everything, Levy dear. Let me take this moment to tell you that if I had to lose your beautiful arse to anyone, I am happy it was Gajeel." He ducked his head out of the way of a carefully thrown "STONE", before winking at Levy and turning back to Lucy.

"Look, girls, I can provide you with useful, male advice on how to conduct yourselves. Trust me, I am the best at this whole romance thing. If you can impress me, you sure as hell can impress Gajeel or whoever else you lovely ladies are trying to get down and dirty with."

Cana ran into the room, her previous flowered bikini replaced with a darker one.

"That's a brilliant idea, Loke. What do you think of this one?"

Cana bent down over Loke, hands either side of his head, giving him a good view down the new bikini top.

"Tell me, Leo the Lion, do you like what you see?"

Loke swallowed, not anticipating this new move from Cana. Maybe the guys at the guild had been wrong, what if Cana wasn't actually dating Bacchus? She was always such an unattainable goal, and now she was throwing herself at him? His fists clenched as he lost control on his hold in the real world and started to slip slowly into the celestial spirit world. This was the worst thing about his partnership with Lucy, now every time he wanted to fuck someone in the real world he had to get her to open the gate. And it was almost impossible to get her to do that, she got so suspicious when he needed to go shopping in Hargeon for the fifth time. But every time he got horny when he had opened his own gate, his concentration slipped and he would be catapulted back home. Almost as if she knew, Cana lowered herself so that her breasts were wobbling just inches away from his face, and his hold on the world disappeared and he was gone.

Cana stood up, turning around to the shocked girls all around her.

"He told me that he had a problem with his hold on Earthland when he got horny, but only when he opens his own gate. I thought if I could wind him up enough, he would be gone. We won't see him again until he's managed to crank one out, at least."

Lucy sighed, apologising to everyone about the actions of her spirit but everyone shrugged it off. Each of them knew what Loke was like, but at least, now they had a sure-fire way to get rid of him. As long as they were sure that he wasn't being summoned through Lucy's power, of course.

Lucy ran her way back upstairs to change into her next outfit while Cana threw herself down on the sofa and grabbing a beer from the table as she went down. She had only bought the three tops, the trousers and the heels from the stores that day, and it appeared that she had given up with the fashion show. In her head, she had already done everyone a great service to everyone in the room by getting rid of Loke.

It was a few minutes of chatter before Lucy came back down wearing another crop top, purple this time, with a floor length shirt with two slits running all the way up to her hips. When she moved, the slits opened up and you could see her skin underneath. Cana wolf-whistled, before calling out to her.

"Hot Damn, I bet Loke is crying over in the spirit world right now about missing this. You are sure to drive Natsu completely insane with that little getup."

Lucy scowled at Cana while Juvia and Lisanna looked at each other in confusion. Of course, Mira and Cana knew about the relationship, through Mira's addiction to match making and Cana's cards which prevented anyone from keeping any kind of secret for too long. Levy giggled, before filling the other two girls in on the new gossip. The realisation dawned over both of their faces, and they giggled to each other as Lucy started to blush in embarrassment before running upstairs to change into her clothes from before.

Mira rose to her feet, pulling her little sister up with her. It was time for their showing, and it was something that they had gotten down to a precise art. No one did impromptu fashion shows like an ex-pin-up model and the little sister who was equally as gorgeous as the former. They were upstairs before Lucy had even taken off a single item of clothing, leaving Cana, Juvia and Levy alone in the front room.

"Booze, anyone?"

Levy shook her head, but Juvia nodded her head in acceptance and walked over to the table to pick up one of the girliest cocktails there. It wasn't very well known to the guild, but it was almost impossible to get Juvia drunk, a little side effect of having a body made of water. She had to drink an awful lot to get the alcohol to water ratio high enough to get even a little tipsy. In that regards, she would be the only person in the guild to defeat both Cana and Bacchus in a drinking contest if she ever wanted to take a part in it. The only problem was, once that secret was out she would never live it down.

"So, Cana-san, how is your relationship with Bacchus-san going?"

Cana almost spat out her beer, looking over at Juvia in surprise.

"How does everyone know about that? You know what would happen to him if my stupid father ever found out!"

Juvia almost shrunk in her chair, desperately resisting the urge to turn into water to get away. Sure, the sofa was leather, but in her experience, people didn't really like her liquefying on their furniture no matter what material it was made out of. Levy saw the panic set into Juvia's mind and jumped to her aid.

"It is pretty obvious, Cana. No one really believes that he came all the way here to the guild just to see how we were doing. Plus, you know that Gildarts will be gone for the next couple of years anyway. By the time he gets back you'll have either broken up or got married. And if you've got married, he's gonna feel more guilty over that than Bacchus taking the innocence of his only daughter."

Cana sat back in his chair, smirking over at Levy. If she thought that it was Bacchus that took her innocence, then she was entirely incorrect. But before she could say anything, Lucy had re-entered the room and join Cana on the sofa.

"I just got a glimpse of the next act, be prepared to feel sorely inadequate about your bodies."

The statement was meant more in amazement at how gorgeous the Strauss sisters were, rather than feeling any spite against them and everyone in the room knew that. No matter how gorgeous you were, you were nothing next to the white-haired wonders.

Both Strauss sisters came around the corner at once, working off each other brilliantly. Mira was wearing a pale blue sleeveless dress that fell down to her knees, and on closer inspection Levy could see that it was covered in tiny red roses. She had let her hair down, and her fringe fell across her face framing it almost perfectly. She had told Levy once that the reason she wore it up all the time was to keep it out of her eyes, but Levy had always secretly thought she looked better with it down. Lisanna was wearing denim shorts so tiny that her guild mark was in full view, and a blue crop top that fell off both shoulders and matched her sisters perfectly. Whether they had planned this, Levy didn't know, but they looked more like twins than simply sisters. Looking down at their feet, Levy could see that Mira had gone for red court shoes which Levy knew that Mira already owned and matched the roses on her dress. Levy felt a little annoyed that the sisters had the entirety of the rest of their wardrobe to pick and choose from, but she couldn't deny that it completed their look of perfection. Lisanna was wearing a pair of Converses, black with splatters of paint all over them. She had never really been one for high heels, choosing for practicality over looks much more often than her older sister. Her short hair was loose, and it fanned out as they both span around at the bottom. Both of them belonged in magazines, and Levy looked down at her own body, feeling more than a little inadequate, exactly as Lucy had warned her. How Gajeel had decided to pursue her and not the two Goddesses in front of her, she would never know.

As the sisters left the room, adding a little more sway to their hips than necessary, the four girls remaining in the room let out a breath and looked at each other.

"I mean, there's sexy as fuck and then there's that, right?" Cana addressed everyone in the room, and they all nodded.

"Juvia feels slightly jealous of Bickslow-san now." Juvia shifted in her chair, wondering whether she could ever look like that. Maybe Gray would be more attracted to her if she looked more like the Strauss sisters. If only she could work out exactly what made them irresistible to any warm-blooded human that saw them.

"Don't be silly, Juvia," Levy reassured her fellow bluenette, placing her hand gently on her knee. "I'm sure Gray will fall head over heels for you when he see's what you've bought for him."

Juvia blushed slightly, the red of her cheeks almost complimenting the colour of her hair. She started to shrink, and Levy decided to take her mid off it before she melted. Again.

"So, Lucy, how are things going with Natsu?"

The blond let out a sigh, before shaking her head.

"I think I could walk into his house completely naked, and profess my love for him and he still wouldn't even notice. He is so oblivious it is untrue."

Cana and Levy nodded, they had known Natsu for a long time and knew just how… dumb he could be. Before Lucy there had been a lot of girls who had wanted a bit of the Salamander, Cana had even had a crush on him herself, but they always used to give up before he noticed. It seemed like there wasn't any time for romance between eating and starting brawls in the guild. Before anyone could respond to her annoyance, Lisanna and Mira had made their way down the stairs again and reentered the room.

Mira had tied up her hair into a messy bun, how she could throw her hair up and it come out so perfect Levy would never know. She had put on a red and black spotted dress, with a large hole cut out of the front to make a heart, the point of which showed off her cleavage. She had changed her shoes to black heels, with a large bow on the front and ribbons crisscrossing up her legs like Cana's did. When she span around, the skirt of her dress flew up and revealed her red panties underneath. She giggled slightly as she pushed the skirt down before her cheeks turned slightly red. Lisanna trailed behind her, almost perfectly in step. She was wearing the same shorts and shoes as before, but she had replaced her top for one that was black and cut right down to the bottom of her cleavage, connecting up just below her breast line by hooks and eyes. It fitted her perfectly and showed off her figure to everyone that looked at her. She spun the same as her sister, but the fact that she was wearing shorts meant that she didn't end up revealing herself like her sister did.

"Awww, come on Lisanna, show us your pants! Mira let us see hers!"

Lisanna giggled, before turning tail and heading out of the room to boo's from Cana who visibly deflated in her chair, disappointed at the lack of oogling she had gotten to do.

"So, Levy-san, how is it going with Gajeel-kun?"

Levy turned around to look at Juvia, sure that she knew better than anyone else about their relationship due to being so close to the Iron Dragon Slayer. She was sure that he had told her everything that had happened in their relationship.

"It's going ok. I'm not really sure what's happening myself, really. We ended up holding hands, but he said that we could find out what we were together. So I guess he is interested in me, but…"

"We are trying to get him to lose control and rip her clothes off!"

"Lu-chan! Don't be so vulgar!"

Cana stopped in her laughter for long enough to tease Levy even more.

"Yeah, Lucy, that's my job! Let me explain, Juvia, we are trying to find clothes that look good on Levy, but better on Gajeel's bedroom floor."

Levy opened her mouth to protest but gave up pretty quickly. There was no arguing with these guys when they were in this kind of mood. Even Juvia was giggling so hard she was holding her sides. Levy couldn't help but join in, their laughing was infectious. And it was true, that kind of was the aim for that day's shopping spree. The laughter had just about died down when the sisters came back in and demanded all the attention on themselves as soon as their first foot was in the door.

Mira's hair was back down again, with her fringe pulled up above her head in her signature tuft. She was wearing a black button up blouse with a knee length pencil skirt with large red buttons all the way down the front and a lace filigree around the sides. The fabric hugged her legs tightly, but when she turned around Levy could see a slit up the back which allowed her to walk. She had paired it with some high red wedges that clunked heavily on the floor as she walked, and definitely were not made for stealth. Lisanna followed behind her, her previous pair of shorts swapped for some skinny jeans and a baggy button-down checked shirt, with her colourful painted shoes changed for simple black ones. If Mira was the queen of dressing up, Lisanna was definitely the queen of looking amazing in casual clothes. They both walked towards Levy and Juvia and held their arms out to help them up.

"Come on, Newbies!" Mira said as she pulled Juvia up, Lisanna doing the same with Levy. "We'll give you some tips as it's your first time."

The four bounded upstairs, leaving Lucy and Cana in the room by themselves. Mira led them into Lisanna's room and taught the two bluenettes how to walk to make their asses shake to maximum effect, before throwing on her previous clothes and heading downstairs.

"Don't be too worried, guys. Just have fun, and remember to smile. You're around friends, so don't be too nervous." Lisanna gave them one last piece of advice, before heading downstairs herself, not bothering to get changed. Levy and Juvia looked at each other and shrugged. There was no way they were getting out of it now, anyway.

"Levy-san, could you help Juvia with this zip? It's really complicated…"

Levy turned around from putting on her top, to notice Juvia struggling with her playsuit. It was absolutely perfect for her, but they had to work hard to convince her that it was. It was a pale blue, covered in various shell designs and small fish. The hem was short enough to show her guild mark, and when she turned around it was completely backless. Levy helped her zip up the back and helped as she tried to shimmy out of her bra. For someone who had no problem letting the other members of the guild see her either in a bikini or completely naked, Juvia really didn't like to get changed in front of anyone.

Juvia turned around, looking through her bags before turning around to Levy.

"Levy-san, Juvia doesn't have a hat to wear! She doesn't have a hat to go with this!"

Levy giggled, before helping Juvia look. The girl was slightly too obsessed with hats to be normal, but Levy didn't want to rain on her parade.

"I'll tell you what, Juvia. Let's try this."

Levy led Juvia over to Lisanna's bed, making it easier for her to reach her hair. She took the bandanna off her head and used it to put Juvia's hair up into a bow. Juvia stood to look at herself in the mirror, before turning around to give Levy a hug.

"Thank you Levy-san, Juvia loves it!"

Levy smiled at her, before finishing buttoning up her blouse. It had a sweetheart neckline, with the sleeves made of a thin mesh that covered the rest of her chest and down her arms. She took a second to look at herself in the mirror, before turning around to look at Juvia.

"How do I look?"

She was wearing the black blouse over a pair of black denim shorts that were even shorter than the ones she already owned. Underneath them were some fish-net tights and big black buckled boots that came all the way up to her knees. They had gone for a dark look, both Juvia and Cana assured her that it would drive Gajeel crazy.

"Perfect, Levy-san. Juvia doesn't think that Gajeel-kun will be able to resist you in that!"

Juvia walked over to her, and messed up Levy's hair even more, before tucking the strands behind her ears. Taking a couple of steps back to admire her work, she held out her hand to the shorter girl to try and give her some reassurance.

"Remember, Levy-san, everyone down there are our friends. There's no need to be nervous, right?"

Levy nodded before she took Juvia's hand and they both headed down the stairs.

The cheering started before they even entered the room, and it made the bluenettes blush in sync.

"Do you want to go in first, or me?" Levy said, watching Juvia play with her hands.

"How about we go together" she replied, and squeezed Levy's hand tighter.

The applause from the other girls when they walked through the door was exhilarating, and the cat calls from Mira and Cana made Levy straighten her back and walk forward, shaking her behind as much as possible. She stumbled a couple of times, but either no one noticed or no one pointed it out. Juvia was a lot more sure on her feet, even though she was wearing heels whereas Levy's boots were flat. They did their obligatory turn at the end of the runway, before making their way back out into the hallway.

"Hey girls, I hate to see you go but I sure do love to watch you leave!"

Cana's voice made it's way through the door, making Juvia and Levy laugh as they ran up the stairs. The other girls were right, it was definitely fun. Levy wasn't sure she would do it in front of anyone else, but in front of those which supported her, it definitely gave her confidence a boost.

"Which one next?" Juvia asked, holing up the two dresses she had purchased. They were both blue, but the details set them apart.

"That one," Levy pointed, indicating the one in her left hand. "The other is my favourite, and I think you should save the best until last."

Juvia chuckled, before choosing an outfit for Levy.

"Let Juvia know if you need help with that one, Levy"

Levy stared down at the corset that Mira had picked out for her at the store, and sighed. It was Mira's idea to try and boost Levy's chest a bit to improve her assets, but Levy was confident that it wouldn't work. In the interest of time, she pulled a black skirt with some white filigree over her shorts, before looking at the corset in confusion.

"Here," Juvia said, and Levy turned around to see here standing there, already ready to go.

The dress was navy, and skin tight until the hem finished at her knees. The neckline plunged all the way to just below her belly-button, and Levy could see clearly that Juvia didn't need any help with her assets. She motioned for Levy to take off her blouse, and when it was off she considered the younger girl for a second, before speaking out loud her thoughts.

"Juvia thinks you need to take the bra off as well."

Levy sighed, before reaching behind her to take it off. She had been topless in front of far too many people the last couple of days for her liking. Juvia pressed the front of the corset up to her, before indicating for her to turn around.

"Right, Levy-san, this might hurt a bit. Hold onto the door frame."

Levy wondered for a second why she needed to grab onto the door before she was yanked back by Juvia. She yelled out in surprise before Juvia tsked at her.

"Juvia told you to hold onto the door!"

Levy nodded, before digging her fingers into the door frame. A few yanks later, and the introduction of the feeling that she was going to suffocate, Juvia announced that she was done before turning Levy around.

"Okay, Levy-san. This is going to be weird, but it is entirely necessary, ok?"

Levy looked confused for a second before Juvia reached down into the corset and pulled her breasts up so they were pressed right at the top of the fabric. With a few more readjustments, Juvia announced that Levy was ready.

"Let's go back downstairs, and show them the transformation!"

Juvia didn't even wait for Levy this time before she bounded down the stairs. Levy looked down at her chest, amazed by the cleavage that the corset gave her. So, she had to admit that it did kind of work. She ran down the stairs to meet Juvia, hearing the whoops that came from the front room as the rain woman did her walk through. Levy waited until Juvia had come back out, before walking in herself.

There was silence, but it didn't last very long. The Strauss sisters started cheering along with Lucy, and Cana brought her hands up to her mouth to shout over the noise.

"Fucking Hell, Levy! Your tits are incredible!"

Levy blushed slightly, before completing her tour of the circuit and running back upstairs to meet Juvia.

"Last outfit, Levy-san! Let's make it count!"

Levy nodded at Juvia, blush disappearing as she saw the joy on Juvia's face. She had never really liked being the centre of attention before, but it seemed like she was definitely enjoying this. Juvia helped her out of the corset, and she got undressed the rest of the way before throwing on her bra. She rifled through her bag, now super disorganised from the discarded outfits, to find the last dress. It was skin tight, with a zip all the way down the front which was actually functional, and the silver shimmered slightly in the sun. She picked out a new bandana she had purchased, one with little silver beads embroidered into it which matched the fabric of the dress and tied it into her hair. She threw the boots back on, before turning around to Juvia.

The dress was the same blue as her hair and had ribbons criss-crossing down her torso until they reached her waist and wrapped closer together into a skirt which ended a few inches above her knees. The ribbons pulled her breasts together, creating a magnificent cleavage.

"Ready, Juvia?"

The taller girl nodded, before taking Levy's hand again.

"Together, this time?"

Levy nodded, before allowing Juvia to lead her down the stairs again. She took another deep breath, this time in anticipation rather than nervousness, and stepped through the door to another rapturous applause. If Gajeel was as easily pleased as these guys, then maybe, just maybe, her plan was going to work.

Unbeknownst to the girls, there was someone else watching them through the window. Loke chuckled at his rouse, as soon as he had sorted himself out in the celestial spirit world he had come back to the house, and thanks to the time difference he hadn't missed a thing. He gulped at everyone's outfits, trying to commit as much to memory as he could knowing that it wouldn't be long before he had to report back. He chuckled to himself. These guys just didn't know what they were in for.


	12. Chapter 12

After the unlikely trio left the guild, Gajeel made his way over to the bar to get another drink. He blinked twice when he realised Max was stood behind the bar instead of any of the normal barmaids, but he guessed it made sense. The demon must have been called out on the same "emergency" as Cana, and Kinana was out for the week. Grabbing his beer from the sand wizard, he turned tail and headed back to his usual table. He had barely sat down when someone, or more accurately some things, disturbed his silence.

"Hey, Gajeel!"

"Can I have some?"

He would recognise the creepy voices anywhere, they were bothering him often enough. He swatted the wooden dolls with his hands, but the stupid things just wouldn't give up.

"Dammit, Freak, I swear I am going to destroy your little pets if you don't shut them the fuck up."

Bickslow looked up from across the hall to see his Tommens annoying the Dragon Slayer. Instead of doing what was asked and calling his babies back over to him, he instead stood up and walked over to join them at the table. He slammed his drink down, before placing himself heavily in the chair and crossing his legs on top of the table.

"Gajeel, you know that I can't control them. They have a mind of their own."

Gajeel scowled, growling at the man behind the mask. It annoyed him that, with the man's eyes covered, he could never quite tell what he was thinking. It was only the annoying grin that told him that Bickslow was taking the piss out of him.

"You know, Freak, that I am vindictive enough to never stop until I find a way to annihilate souls and leave you all alone."

Bickslow didn't react, allowing the Tommens to float around him of their own accord, although at least they shut up this time. He took a long draw out of his drink, keeping his eyes on the other man as he did, not that he would ever know. After a few silent minutes, which involved Bickslow biting his tongue so as to not run his mouth too early. His patience paid off, as finally Gajeel sighed and looked back up at him.

"Alright, you've got me. Why are you still sat over here."

Bickslow let his tongue loll out of his mouth. It worked exactly how he had planned it. He had noticed over the last few months that all of the dragons were innately curious, and he could use this to his advantage. He had always assumed that it was just a Laxus thing, but he could use his experience with the Lightning Dragon to mess with the others. It was mainly pranking, but this worked too.

"Well, as you may know, I was just on a job with Juvia. And she told me that you needed to make friends because you are a grumpy bastard and no one likes you."

Bickslow kept his face as straight as he could as he stared at the black-haired dragon and watched him struggle with how best to deal with the barely veiled insult. It was one of Bickslows best talents, to piss people off just enough to make them angry, but not enough for them to warrant a full-blown brawl. It was a very thin line in the guild.

"Wow, you sure know how to make a best buddy don't you, Freak."

Bickslow laughed, his mouth open and his guild mark visible for all to see as he did. He hadn't thought that he would have so much in common with the man but the same deadpan delivery of his jokes really hammered it home. Maybe Juvia and Lisanna had more sense than he originally thought.

"Anyway, who am I to deny such a beautiful woman. So here I am, making friends."

Gajeel sighed, looking at Bickslow through his pierced eyebrows.

"Look, Bickslow, we both know that you have been fucking Lisanna. Don't even try to deny it."

Bickslow froze. He thought that they had managed to keep it quiet, and there was no way the normal grapevine of the guild had gotten to Gajeel quite that quickly. His mouth snapped shut, and all of his babies settled down on the table, catching on to his uneasiness.

"Got you there, didn't I Freak? You thought that you could hide something like that from this nose? You absolutely reek of her. Even Laxus probably knows and his sense of smell is almost as bad as you guys."

Bickslows mouth open and closed in surprise, before he breathed in and out through his nose to calm himself down. He thought that his ability to see souls was useful in pissing people off but the knowledge of who in the guild was fucking was far more amazing than anything the souls could give him. Sure, they could tell him who was in love with who, but apart from that, it was useless in the gossip vine. But, on the plus side, maybe he could use Gajeel's ability to his own end.

"So, who else in the guild is fucking right now?"

Gajeel tapped his fingers impatiently against his mug, smirking to himself.

"Why should I tell you? In my experience, it is very valuable information to hold."

Bickslow grinned, leaning forward in his chair to intimidate the bigger man as much as he could. With one swift movement, he pulled his mask up and tried his best to hold in his figure eyes. He couldn't afford to lose control of them now.

"Because if you don't tell me, I will take control of your soul. Both the human one, and the dragon one."

Gajeel barely flinched, but Bickslow knew that he hit a nerve. He had known about Natsu's two souls from the moment they met, but it was only when he met Gajeel and Wendy that he knew that it was a dragon slayer thing, and not just a one-off freak incident with Natsu. He also knew that none of the dragon slayers had ever mentioned it, so he took the gamble that it was something that they all wanted to keep a secret. And by the way that Gajeel hadn't come back with a witty retort, the risk had paid off. After a few seconds of uncertainty, Gajeel sat back in his chair and chuckled.

"A man after my own heart. Alright, freak, you win. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Bickslow grinned, slamming his hands down on the table and making the two tankards of beer jump up and spill. Gajeel growled, a deep noise in the back of his throat but Bickslow simply ignored it.

"Gajeel, my buddy, we can become an unstoppable team! With your nose and my eyes, we can rake in the cash in the pools, you understand this right?"

Gajeel huffed dismissively, ignoring the suggestion entirely. He had never really been one to bet on the pools, he made enough money from his jobs and gambling had never been one of his vices. Bickslow made his way around the table and attempted to put his arm around the dragon slayer before an iron club collided with his arm and made him think better of it.

"So then, buddy, what news have you got for me?"

Gajeel took a swig from his beer, preparing for the session which was about to come. This guy was worse than the barmaid when it came to gossip, and there was far too much blood in his alcohol system for him to deal with it right now.

"Well, let's start off by saying that you're not the only one fucking one of the Strauss family."

Bickslow sighed, of course, everyone knew about Elfman and Evergreen. They thought they were being so sneaky about it, but they may as well have had a flashing neon sign above their heads announcing their feelings to the world.

"Aww man, you're less useful than I thought. That's old news, Gajeel! It's worth nothing to me!"

Gajeel smirked, his penchant for pissing people off hadn't disappeared over the time he had spent in this guild. There was a reason he was always chosen to force other guilds to attack Phantom back in his days in his old guild.

"Oh, so you knew about Mira and Freed then?"

Bickslow froze in his tracks. The one problem with his eyes is that they only told him the feelings of others, and not what relationships had become more tangible than mere thoughts. The problem with Mira was that she was nearly always impossible to read because everyone adored here and she held the whole guild in such high respect. And plus, having known Mira for years, he knew that she didn't get involved solely with people that she had feelings for. She never had the heart to turn anyone down, so often times she was entirely neutral to the other half of the relationship. As expected, those relationships never lasted very long. It was true, Mira was untouchable when it came to the betting pools. No one ever knew who it would be next.

It took a while for Bickslow's brain to grind back into gear, and by the time he came back around Gajeel's grin was splitting his face in two, his elongated canines gleaming in the light. He was definitely one of the most terrifying men Bickslow had ever met.

"You mean, green haired Freed?! The guy obsessed with runes?"

Gajeel nodded, basking in the confusion that emanated from the man beside him. It was always good to drive his fellow guild mates insane. Bickslow took a second to recollect his thoughts, before with one wave of his hand the five dolls who had been snoozing on the table yawned and zoomed off down into the basement of the guild.

"Where are your toys going?"

Bickslow turned to Gajeel, the grin on his face equalling the dragon slayers in both size and menace, and spoke in a voice that emanated evil.

"Not that I don't trust you, buddy, but I have to hear this from the horse's mouth. You see, you have just given me pure gold. I hope you don't mind."

Gajeel was torn. On the one hand, he hated having to talk to the others in the guild, but on the other this promised to be good. He always loved being able to mess about with people, and maybe this new collaboration would pay off in the end.

It was a few minutes later when Freed arrived, looking slightly worse for wear. His hair was jumbled, and his coat was half falling off as he was pushed into the room by the small wooden dolls, each of them offering their own words of encouragement. He had been sat reading quietly in the library when they came and assaulted him. He had managed to put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, he lost. It was ridiculously hard to defeat enemies which don't feel any pain. They bumped into him occasionally, shouting as they did.

"Come on, Freed"

"Let's go!"

Freed stumbled over to the table, finally sitting himself down on the chair opposite Gajeel. The Totems set up guard behind him, bobbing up and down slightly and trying to look as menacing as possible. For small wooden cylinders, they were surprisingly good at it.

"What on Earthland do you want, Bickslow?"

Freed really did not like the look on the bottom half of Bickslow's face. They had known each other so long that he had learnt to read the awkward half facial expressions that he gave. This one meant he was elated, and elated was never a good thing with Bickslow.

"Good Morning, Mr. Justine. I would like to introduce myself. I am Bickslow, interviewer extraordinaire, and this is my assistant…"

Another growl erupted from Gajeel's throat, making Freed jump. The dragon slayer blended in so well with the shadows, he hadn't known that he was even there. Freed would never have guessed that the two of them would have been sat together without someone's head rolling, but the longer he spent thinking about it maybe they were pretty good for each other. The whole opposites attract and all that. Bickslow sighed, before correcting his sentence as quickly as possible.

"… I meant this is my joint interviewer… guy… Gajeel."

Freed looked between the two, Bickslow's face of utter excitement the complete opposite of Gajeel's resting face of indifference. He dreaded what these two had in store for him. He looked at them, knowing that Bickslow's babies were right behind him blocking any escape he would wish to make. The damn things had stolen his sword and left it downstairs in the library, so even that wouldn't be able to help him. He stared at Bickslow, willing him to give him more information without even having to speak.

"As you know, my dear friend, a little-known advantage of my figure eyes is the ability to see the condition of people's souls. One of the things that happen to said people's souls is that they light up around those who they are in love with."

Freed shuffled in his seat, suddenly very uncomfortable under the twin stares that currently gazed over him.

"And where are you going with this, Bickslow? I am not quite sure that I follow."

Bickslow leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table in front of him and grinning at the green-haired man. Freed could see his green eyes glowing behind his visor, as Bickslow's excitement grew his ability to hold them back decreased dramatically. This sudden raise of excitement was definitely not good for him.

"Well, Freed, I know about a certain barmaid that you have a crush on."

Freed squirmed, even more, a blush covering all of his face and neck, clashing horrendously with his hair. He had known through his research that Bickslow was, in fact, capable of that, but he never knew that Bickslow had perfected it. His powers were a lot more powerful than he ever let on. Bickslow waited for a second, leaning back in his chair to take in the entire of Freed's reaction, bathing in it almost as if it was the sunlight.

"And, now, I have another piece of knowledge to add onto that. And this is where my best bud Gajeel comes in. You see, Dragon Slayers have a very sensitive sense of smell. But I know what you're thinking."

Bickslow crossed his hands across his chest, raising the pitch of his voice and adding a sing-song cadence as he always did when he was talking for Freed.

"'But Bickslow, you handsome man, everyone knows that Dragon Slayers have an excellent sense of smell. And what does that have to do with that hot piece of arse who serves me drinks.'"

Freed sighed, both at the ridiculous impression and the choice of words his old friend used. A smug smile spread across his face, and he exaggerated turning around to look at Gajeel.

"And now, my dear Gajeel, would you like to deliver the punchline?"

Gajeel leaned forward, towering over Freed as he did. The piercings in his skin glinted in the lights of the guild and somehow made him look even more intimidating than normal.

"Well, Nerd, this nose right here" he tapped his nose, his fingernail producing a dull thud against the metal which studded his nose "can tell me that you're ploughing Mira relentlessly every single night."

Freed choked on nothing, coughing heavily as Bickslow laughed so hard he couldn't breathe. Gajeel remained stone-faced, staring the green-haired man down.

Freed's life was falling apart. He and Mira had tried so damn hard to keep their relationship quiet, and now he discovers that every single one of the Dragon Slayer's knew. And even worse, one of them had told Bickslow. Bickslow! Of all the people, why did he have to find out?

"So, Freed, is it as good as it looks?"

An unknown voice appeared from behind him, and he turned to see someone else who he dreaded finding out his secret.

Bacchus Groh.

The man vaulted over the chair next to Freed, before sitting down forcefully. He crossed his legs up on the chair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

"Before we get down to business, boys, Bickslow can you get your toys to do their thing?"

Bickslow nodded, waving his arm to set his babies on another mission. Freed wasn't going to leave now, and he was pretty sure that Gajeel would be able to catch him if he did. They zoomed off to the bar, and each shouted an order to Max simultaneously. It took the sand-wizard a few seconds to work out exactly what they wanted before he poured all four drinks and rested them carefully on the heads of the little dolls. He winced as they immediately span around, moving a lot faster than he would have guessed that they could with such heavy loads on their heads, and whizzed back over to the table.

Gajeel and Bickslow grabbed a tankard of beer each, Bacchus grabbed a large bottle of vodka, and Freed stared at the ridiculous-looking drink in front of him. It was bright red, with a small umbrella sticking out of the top and multiple cherries balanced on the top.

"Bickslow, what is this?"

Bickslow grinned, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as it did.

"I thought you would know, Freed. It's your sweetheart's favourite cocktail, a Perfect Singapore Sling."

"Gin, Brandy, Vodka, grenadine and soda water," Bacchus added, pouring his own alcohol into a container and taking a sip. Freed looked at the drink in front of him. Maybe that knowledge would be useful in the future, who knew?

He took a sip out of the drink, trying desperately not to cough at the high alcohol content in it, for him anyway. He wasn't one of the heaviest drinkers in the guild, and he didn't want to embarrass himself even more than he already had. After a few sips, he started to get used to the taste. It was quiet pleasant, after a while.

"So, Freed, let's get down to business."

Bacchus leaned closer to Freed, the smell of liquor already strong on his breath.

"Is Mira as sweet to taste as she is to look at?"

Freed blushed, placing his drink down on the table. There was no backing out now. He only wished that Mira forgave him from letting the cat out of the bag on their relationship so soon.

"I thought you were in a relationship, Bacchus. I thought that you shouldn't be looking at other girls."

Bacchus chuckled, a deep noise in the back of his throat that rumbled up through his mouth. He moved the tip of his finger lazily around the top of his glass, causing a squeak that was inaudible to everyone except Gajeel.

"You see, the thing about me and Cana is that we belong to different guilds. Ergo, we don't see each other very often. We have a kind of… agreement. We can do whatever we wish, as long as the we tell the other." He grinned, licking his lips as he remembered his conquests. "It's a good arrangement. Maybe you should suggest it to Mira some time."

Freed sighed, how he hadn't known that was coming he didn't know. It was just like Cana to have an arrangement like that, and it sure did explain why Cana had been her usual flirty self since the Grand Magic Games. Bacchus stared at the green-haired man for a while, before realising that his fun was over and moving onto the next man in his queue. The silent Dragon Slayer who watched the proceedings with an odd mix of amusement and indifference.

"And what about you, Metal Man? How is it going with that blue-haired beauty of yours?"

Gajeel slid his eyes over to the increasingly drunk man before they returned to his drink in front of him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Drunkard."

"You've already used that one. You call Cana Drunkard."

Gajeel stared Freed into silence, before turning to Bacchus and trying again.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Male Drunkard."

He glared at Freed, daring him to call him out again, but was met with silence.

"You know who I mean, Gajeel. The one with the cracking arse. Oh, what I wouldn't give to hold that in my hands…"

Gajeel moved faster than anyone had ever moved before, and he towered over Bacchus, arms either side of him rested on the table and eyes narrowed.

"If you ever. EVER. Even think of Levy again, I will tear each of your limbs from your body, and weld them back in the wrong places before burying you so far below the ground that even the worms will struggle to find your body."

Bacchus didn't show fear at the huge man pressing at his back, but the whole table froze for a few seconds. Finally, Gajeel straightened, before making his way back over to his original chair. He had sat back down before anyone dared to say anything.

"Real casual there, Gajeel. No one will ever know that you have a crush on her."

Gajeel looked at the masked man next to him, before lowering his voice slightly.

"I'm serious, Bickslow. Dismemberment, welding, worms."

Bickslow just laughed, knowing that Gajeel would never go that far. Well, assuming he would never go that far. If he was lucky. Freed looked between the three men around him, trying to judge the correct time to make his comment. The alcohol had started to course through his system and increased his confidence slightly.

"How is it going with Levy anyway, Gajeel? Have you made any progress yet?"

Gajeel sighed, leaning back in his chair to rest his back against the wall. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't normally one for telling everyone his personal life, but maybe these idiots really could help him out. They were all in relationships, after all, and they might be able to give him a burst of inspiration on how to deal with his own issues.

"Not well. Every time I seem to get somewhere, I panic and pull out."

He expected laughs, but all of the men just nodded in solidarity. They all wore looks of concentration, almost as if they were thinking of the best course of action. It did, however, surprise him that Freed was the first one to speak.

"I could write a rune trap that the two of you could get caught in. Make it look like it was pure coincidence that it was you two who got caught in it, and prevent either of you from leaving until you both confess your feelings."

Gajeel contemplated for a second, before shaking his head.

"Nah, she needs to tell me of her own accord. I don't want to force her into it."

"Plus," Bickslow added, starting to chuckle. "You forget that she is far more intelligent than you, and can break out of any trap you set up."

Gajeel and Bacchus joined in with the laughter, and Freed sulked, sitting back in his chair. What he wouldn't give to be as powerful a fighter as the other three, but alas he was given a less offensive type of magic.

"Get her absolutely plastered, and then she will be bound to fall in love with you!"

Bacchus hiccoughed slightly, and his cheeks were starting to redden. Seeing as he was already the majority of the way through the bottle of vodka, Gajeel wasn't surprised. Bickslow started to laugh, harder this time, and slapped his palm down on the table.

"You haven't seen Levy while drunk. She would certainly tell you exactly what she thinks, honesty just spills out of her mouth as soon as she has had just the smallest amount of alcohol."

Freed started to giggle, the memory of Levy wobbling around while drunk reappearing in his head. At least, he could hold his alcohol better than she can, anyway.

Gajeel sighed again. Although it would be funny to see what happened to his little Shrimp while drunk, he wouldn't want to start off their relationship like that. Maybe the alcohol could come later on. He voiced his concerns to Bacchus, who simply shrugged and got back to drinking.

"Any ideas, freak? You seem to have that Strauss girl wrapped around your little finger."

Both Freed and Bacchus looked up in confusion, but one look from Bickslow made them shut up as soon as possible.

"Well, the only real advice that I have is take over their souls and make them fall in love with you."

The other men at the table looked over at him in shock. They all know that his figure eyes gave him the ability to do that, but they never thought that he would use it to such an evil purpose. Bickslow threw himself back in his chair, waving his hands in front of his face.

"Holy shit, guys, I was joking! I don't know how I got Lisanna, it just kind of fell into place. Just act natural, I guess would be my suggestion."

He had barely finished his sentence, before once again a newcomer joined the group.

"You know, if you're having difficulties you could always try the master of loving."

Loke was leaned against the wall a while away, one foot pulled up and laid flat against it. He looked at the four hopeless men out of the corner of his eye and grinned. Without waiting for an invitation, he walked his way slowly over to the table before settling himself down on the end of the bench Bickslow and Gajeel occupied.

"So, who are the lovely ladies that you are trying to woo."

"Lady" Bacchus corrected, pointing his hand with his glass in the direction of Gajeel. "And only one of us is struggling. The rest of us are knee deep in pussy right now."

Freed balked at the crude choice of words, but everyone ignored him. Loke turned around to Gajeel, and laid a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the death glare that he received.

"So, Gajeel, who is the lucky lady?"

Bickslow laughed, staring at Loke in surprise.

"Wow, you really have been spending a lot of time in the spirit world not to realise that. You really are losing your touch, big man."

Loke scowled, baring his teeth in a strangely catlike manner.

"I was trying to be polite, Bickslow. But if you insist. What have you tried with Levy so far?"

Gajeel sighed, and Loke knew that he thought that he was out of ideas. But luckily, that was where he came in.

"Look, I will do a bit of research, and find something that Levy wants. You give it to her as a gift, and she will see how kind and thoughtful you are. Levy takes me as the kind of girl who slides into a relationship slowly, so you just need to become closer friends with her and you should get it eventually. Just be patient."

Gajeel looked at Loke, surprised at the actual advice that was coming out of his mouth. He always assumed that this guy was a fuck 'em and run kinda bloke.

"I did offer her some very rare books, but she has to come to my house to use them… I'm teaching her a different language as well, but that is going to take some time…"

Loke jumped up, slapping both hands on the table at once.

"Gajeel, you are a genius! Just keep getting her to come over, cook her some decent meals and you will show her that you're a keeper. And you said that you were struggling!"

Gajeel nodded. Maybe he was already doing everything that he needed to, and, like Loke said, just needed to be patient and wait for the relationship to develop. Maybe opening the problem to others actually helped, maybe he should do it more often… Gajeel shuddered. Past Gajeel would have died of embarrassment if he knew that he would ever think that sentence.

Before anyone could say anything further, Elfman walked into the hall. It was difficult to miss him, he was such a huge figure almost taking up the whole of the doorway. He took a second to look around, before making a beeline to their table. He dragged one of the chairs off from a table in the middle of the guild, before setting it at the end and sitting in it heavily. Gajeel could hear the wood creak, but it seemed to hold up.

"What's up, Elfman. How are your gorgeous sisters?"

Bacchus hiccoughed again, before gesturing to Bickslow to get in another round of drinks. Bickslow waved his arm lazily, and the five dolls shot back off to the bar. Elfman sighed, placing his forehead on the table.

"They're over at our place, they went on another shopping trip. From what I heard, they've been buying new clothes to drive the guys crazy. Or something like that."

Every other male at the table froze. Each and every one of them had a girl there, and they needed to know what was going on. Suddenly, Bickslow turned to Loke and spoke in a hurried tone.

"You can get over to them, right? You can do that gate thing and get to Lucy?"

Loke nodded, somewhat confused at where Bickslow was going.

"You need to get your ass over there and tell us what's going on!" Freed interrupted, voice a little louder than necessary. There was barely time to blink before Loke disappeared.

And now, it was simply a waiting game.


	13. Chapter 13

The next twenty-seven minutes were quite possibly the tensest twenty-seven minutes that had ever passed in the guildhall. Bickslow and Freed discussed past jobs with Elfman, and Bacchus simply sat and added the occasional quip as they went along. Gajeel never was one for small talk, and he could tell that none of the men's heart were really in it. They were all just sat wondering what was going to happen when Loke got back. Gajeel sat, staring at the alcohol in front of him and wondering just what the girls had done to Levy. He could barely resist her as it was, let alone if the females of this guild had been let loose on her. He resigned himself to just sitting and listening to the others, trying to gather as much information as he could. Information was, after all, the main currency in this guild.

It turned out that Bacchus was here for the next two weeks. He had completed a job a few miles away, and swung by the guild on the way back to his own. After the first night, he had decided to call into the guild master and announce that he would be gone for the next fortnight. In all honesty, Gajeel could see why. In a choice between a guild which he was pretty sure was devoid of females, and fourteen nights with Cana, he knew which one he would choose.

Bickslow stayed silent about his relationship with Lisanna, dodging all of the questions directed at him by an increasingly drunken Freed expertly. Freed, on the other hand, was giving up an awful lot of information about Mira to Elfman's dismay.

"You know; I really don't need to hear about what my sister likes in bed. It really isn't manly."

Bickslow laughed, and carried on probing Freed for information. Every few minutes he waved his arm, and sent his babies for more alcohol. Gajeel was building up quite a collection of pints, still pacing himself with his intake. At this rate, none of them were going to be in any fit state to do anything with the girls when they got back. Except maybe Bacchus. That guy could sober up out of nowhere…

"You're very quiet, Gajeel."

Gajeel looked up, seeing Elfman staring straight back at him. The guy was a literal mountain, he always forgot that when he wasn't in the immediate vicinity. Having turned up later in the day, he was a lot more sober than anyone else in the conversation. Gajeel shrugged at him, returning his gaze to his beer.

"Where's Lily?"

The man wasn't going to give up. Gajeel guessed that it was something to do with the very graphic things that were being told about his sisters in the other conversation.

"On a job with Shadowgear."

Elfman nodded, taking a sip of his beer. The tankard looked comically small in his massive hands, and Gajeel couldn't help but stare at the tiny chair which seemed to hold all of his weight.

"How are things with Levy?"

Gajeel sighed. Levy had been such an integral part of the guild for so long, that everyone wanted to check on her welfare. Why had Gajeel decided to choose such a beloved person to fall in love with? He turned his head back down to his beer and grunted, hoping that the man would give up and join another conversation somewhere else in the guild.

Elfman stared at the dark-haired man in front of him. He hadn't ever really spoken to him before, but if Levy had fallen for him he had to be a nice guy, right? And everyone knew that he had been playing as a double agent for a while, risking his life for the guild. Surely he had to have a heart somewhere underneath.

"We've forgiven you, you know?"

The man in front of him froze. Elfman almost shrank as two blood-red eyes turned up to stare at him. But he had come this far, he had to continue now.

"For the whole Phantom Lord thing. You don't need to worry; no one holds it against you."

The Dragon Slayer smirked, blowing air out of his nose as he did. Elfman wondered if he had gone slightly too far, and was glad that the other three on the table were so engrossed with their conversation. He winced when he overheard that Mira "loved nothing more than to ride herself to completion". Something that he really didn't need to know.

"Let me tell you something, Mountain Man."

Elfman was torn out of his thoughts, and looked over to the man in front of him.

"You can tell me that until you are blue in the face. Every single member of this guild could bake me a cake and throw me a party to tell themselves that they forgive me. I could be voted the master of this entire guild, but you know what? I will never forgive myself. For a long as I live, I will never forget what I have done. The blood on my hands. So, thank you, for telling me. It means a lot more than you know. But don't expect me to turn up at all of the parties, and smile along with everyone else. For my past will always follow me, and I will always be in its shadow, no matter how bright Fairy Tail shines."

Elfman nodded, sharing a second of silence. He knew what it was like to live with the guilt of his past, and he also knew that Gajeel would have to come around in his own time. The two men shared a second of solidarity, taking a large gulp of their drinks as the men next to them carried on with their more vulgar conversation, completely unaware at what had happened just a few feet away from them.

Loke appeared out of nowhere, materialising next to the wall behind them in a shower of golden sparks. He really did like making an entrance. Every man at the table looked up from their conversations, excited at the knowledge that he held.

"How's it looking, Loke?"

Freed asked, waiting for the information that the lion spirit held. The spirit in question simply lowered his glasses, staring at them over the rim.

"I suggest all of you guys go home immediately. You have no idea what is coming for you. Good Luck."

Freed and Bacchus were the first to go, on each other's heels as they sprinted out of the guildhall. Freed never even bothered going to retrieve his sword, they would be back at the guild tomorrow anyway and no one was brave enough to mess with his things. Bickslow followed next, and with a nod to Elfman Gajeel rose, and made his way out of the guild.

"Guess it's just you and me, Elfman." Loke said as he sat himself down opposite the man. "So, how's it going with Evergreen?"

Elfman sighed. He thought he had escaped, he really had. But he should have known by now that there was no getting away from the gossip mill here at Fairy Tail.

Bickslow made his way back to the apartment that he shared with Freed, hoping beyond hope that his roommate was going to meet with Mira at her place. One of his babies had already gone to keep an eye on the Strauss residence, ready to tell Lisanna to come and meet him as soon as she was finished. He stumbled slightly, the alcohol starting to affect his balance. He giggled to himself, and heard the remaining four totems copy him as he did. He was walking through an alley, the shortest way back to his flat, when it happened.

He was knocked to the floor by what felt like a brick wall, all of the air leaving his lungs at once. Trying to call his babies, he felt them bouncing into a barrier a mere few feet away from him. Coughing at the effort, he pulled himself up to take in his surroundings. He could see nothing but shadows, the very walls of the alley disappeared into darkness. He reached a hand out to the closest wall, and felt the cold chill of metal under the shadows. It all fell into place. Before he could move he was hauled up to his feet, and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Hello Bickslow"

Gajeel stood in front of him, all of his skin turned to iron and shadows whipping around him. Both of his hands were clasped in Bickslow's shirt, holding him a few inches off the floor. He was sure that the Dragon Slayer had grown at least a foot, as he remembered him being shorter than him. Bickslow tried to put his feet back on the ground, but it was hopeless. He tried to call his totems to him, but they clanked uselessly against the metal prison. He removed their souls from their bodies, and allowed them to search inside the prison for a new host, but there was no use.

"I need you to take off your mask for this."

Gajeel's hand enveloped the front of Bickslow's mask, and it was pulled off of his head. Bickslow was relieved, the man had made a mistake. Now he could unleash his figure eyes and…

As soon as his vision had cleared from the bulk of Gajeel's hand, he could see that Gajeel had thought of everything. A metal visor had appeared across his eyes, blinding him from Bickslow's magic. The man let Bickslow down on the floor and removed his hands from his top. Pointing at his own chest, Gajeel spoke.

"I need you to look at my souls while I tell you this."

Bickslow looked at the aura around Gajeel that signified his soul. Unlike most, who had only one faint line around them, Gajeel had two. One green soul stuck out the furthest, and one black one clung close to his skin. As he watched, the black one expanded, taking over the green as it did.

"No one knows about my dragon. And it's my secret to tell. If anyone gets wind of it, I will know who told them. And, let me tell you, I will hunt you down for the rest of your life. I will find a way to destroy souls, and annihilate all of your babies one by one. You will end up alone, fearing every noise that you hear outside your windows, until I come for you and your life ends."

Bickslow stayed silent, he wasn't one to quiver or beg for his life. But he was scared. The longer Gajeel spoke, the more intense his second soul got, almost as if it was punctuating his words. It took him a while before he grunted in approval.

"I get it. The figure eyes are off. You can look now."

It said something to Bickslow that Gajeel trusted him enough to remove his visor, and soon later the prison surrounding them disappeared. He watched as the metal slowly retracted back into Gajeel's skin, and he nodded before he turned around, walking out of the alley and back into the street. The four totems which had stayed with Bickslow flew towards him and he could sense the fear emanating off them. Bickslow shook his head, somehow a lot soberer than he had been previously.

"It's ok, Babies. Let's go see Lisanna."

That guy was one scary motherfucker.

Gajeel got into his house, instantly weirded out by the silence that met him. It was very rare that Pantherlily went out for an extended period of time without him. He stalked into the front room with his shoes still on, revelling in the freedom that Lily's absence afforded him. Some of the books from the night before were still resting on the table, and it reminded him of Levy's promise to return to learn some more Draconic later that evening. He supposed he had better get ready for that.

Making his way upstairs, he scanned through his books for those that would be the most useful. He chose some of the easier works, ones that Metalicana made him read when he was younger. He hated him for it back then, but looking back he realised that it prepared him for his ability to teach a little shrimp how to speak like him. He set the books out on the table, before heading upstairs to grab some papers and pens to allow Levy to make a dictionary of her own. He was sure that she had a lot more experience with learning new languages than he did, but this is what he found the most useful back when he was learning Fiorian so that was how he would teach her. He stared at his handy work for a second, before deciding there was something else he was missing.

Heading to the kitchen, he grabbed a few snacks to keep him and Levy fuelled while they worked. He filled Lily's chair with iron for him to snack on, before remembering that Levy would need something other than metal to sustain her. He rummaged around in a few cupboards before pulling out some crisps and cutting up a few vegetables in case she wanted to be healthy. He arranged it on the table, before heading back upstairs to grab something to do while waiting for Levy to get back from her day out shopping.

Within a few minutes, he was back lounging in his special chair, his book on Solid Script open in his lap. He continued reading where he left off, struggling with some of the more complex words, but getting the gist of it down. It was obvious that this type of magic was never made for combat, and in fact the book made it out to be purely a decorative magic. He smirked as it dawned on him that Levy had adapted her skills to make it more combative, to make the magic that she was born with able to defend her and make her as strong as her other guild mates. To think that he once thought her as weak, that he once thought her defenceless. He shook his head in annoyance. He sure was an idiot back then.

He didn't know how long he sat and read, struggling through the same pages over and over again. He smelt her before she had even entered his front garden, her smell so ingrained in his memory that it signalled on the lowest level of his consciousness that she was here. He placed the book down on the table, and prepared himself for what Loke had warned him. He waited for the quiet knock on the door before he stood up, having been taught before that opening the door before someone had even knocked, or even immediately after the knock, was "weird" and "freaked people out". Taking a deep breath, he walked his way over to the entrance, and swung the door open.

Levy was stood there, hands behind her back, looking down at the floor as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Hey Gajeel, sorry I'm late but I needed to drop stuff off at Fairy Hills and…"

The words didn't even enter Gajeel's mind as he stared at the woman in front of him. She wore a skin tight dress, the material shimmering as if it was made of molten Iron, and ended just above the midway point on her thigh. The zip that ran down the front was just inviting him to undo it, and the fishnet of her stockings and black boots definitely did not help as he wanted nothing more than to see her wearing just those and nothing else. Her hair was tied back with a headband he had never seen before, and he could smell the scent of silver wafting slightly off of it. He swallowed, opening the door wider to let her in.

"Shrimp… I mean, come in."

Levy smiled as she walked passed him, and Gajeel watched her hips sway as she made her way across the room. His heckles raised when he thought that she was heading for his chair, but at the last minute she changed course and sat herself down on the sofa, looking over the food Gajeel provided.

"Are these for me?" She looked up at Gajeel, and when he nodded she grabbed one of the bowls closest to her.

"Oh thank goodness, I'm so hungry. We couldn't go out and get any food earlier so I have barely eaten all day."

Gajeel made his way over to his chair, grabbing another scrap of iron on his way past, and threw himself down placing his feet up on the table. He watched as Levy leant over, and could see straight down her dress. His fist clenched at the side of his leg, and it only got worse when she looked up at him and smiled.

"So, why did you chose these books for me?"

Gajeel took a deep breath, refocusing his mind on the task in front of him. He pulled up the first book he had ever read, one on The History of Dragons, and passed it to Levy carefully. It was so old it was starting to fall apart at the spine, and some of the pages had already escaped the binding, but there was no other recorded copy of it that he had heard of. Levy took it just as gently, picking up on how important it was with the unusual amount of care that Gajeel gave to it.

"This is the first book I read, our version of a children's book I suppose. The words are pretty simple, and between my dictionary and me you should be able to translate it."

Levy grinned again, before she opened up the book and pulled the pens and paper towards her, working on her task of translation. Gajeel watched her for a moment, before leaning back in his chair and returning to his own book.

For the next hour or so they sat there, talking only when Levy needed clarification on a word and Gajeel provided it. Gajeel alternated between staring at the woman in front of him and making his way through the words that, to this point, had evaded him. He was struggling with the main concepts, but he didn't want to distract Levy from her work. That was much more important than him understanding this book.

"Hey, Gajeel?"

Gajeel looked at her over the book (which may as well had been upside-down from the amount of sense he was making out of it) and asked her with his eyes to continue.

"Why can't I find any personal pronouns?"

Gajeel put down the book, looking at her questioningly.

"You're gonna have to break that down for me a bit more, Shrimp."

Levy thought for a second, trying to work out how best to explain.

"Well, you know, words like 'I', 'We' and 'You'. I can't find any at all throughout the whole of this book…"

Gajeel leant over, taking Levy's pen off her to scribble on the paper in front of them.

"Well, you have to say 'I am', and there is no other time you would ever say 'am', so there's no point of saying the 'am'. Whereas in Fiorian that's the only example, we have a different way of saying 'am' for each personal sonoun. It makes no sense to say two words instead of one, so we don't bother with the sonouns."

Gajeel accompanied his explanation with little scribbles, ones which Levy didn't quite understand but nodded along with anyway. It made sense that Draconic would be pretty straight forward and to the point, and Levy really wasn't sure why she was surprised. She decided not to tell him that he meant 'pronoun' and not 'sonoun', he was getting the gist of it pretty well anyway.

Explanation finished, Gajeel sat back in his chair and returned to the book. He was hoping that Levy hadn't noticed he had been on the same page since she had got there. It really was not as simple as he thought it would be, he didn't even recognise half of the words that were written down. He must have growled, because Levy looked up from her work to stare at him.

"Did you want some help with that, Gajeel?"

She didn't wait for him to respond, instead putting down her work and moving over to him. Before Gajeel could protest, she was sat on his lap, pulling the book over so she could read from it.

"What are you struggling with?"

Gajeel couldn't even think. Even the smallest of Levy's movements to get comfortable were amplified on his legs and chest, and her scent surrounded him completely. He reached his right arm around her to get more comfortable, as he ruffled her hair in the process it sent a fresh wave of her delicious smell into his nostrils. Levy was reading through the book, refamiliarising herself with the content, as Gajeel just stared at her in amazement. He moved his right hand back up to her hair, and started to move his fingers around lazily through the strands. He sensed Levy stop moving, and she slowly leant back into his hand. He leant forward, burying his nose in her hair and drinking in her scent. The smell of his shampoo still lingered, mixed with laces of silver from her hairband. He felt her lean forward, placing the book on the table, before she pulled away to readjust on his lap.

He knew that they were too far gone when she turned to face him, straddling him and settling her knees either side of his hips. The chair was plenty big enough to accommodate the both of them, and Gajeel found himself mere inches away from the girl that he had been chasing for so long.

Levy made the first move, leaning in slightly to move her nose gently against Gajeel's, feeling the cold of the metal studs against her warm skin. She took a shaky breath, resting her hands on the back of the sofa either side of Gajeel's head for support. They remained there, impossibly close, for what was probably only a couple of seconds but instead it felt like a lifetime. Slowly, steadily, Gajeel tilted up his head, until his lips met hers and he closed his eyes in pure bliss.

It started gently at first, oh so gently, but it wasn't made to last. There was no way in all of the heavens or down here on the planet Earth that the sexual tension that had built up over so long was going to allow it to remain gentle.

Gajeel pulled Levy's head closer to his, pulling the head band out of her hair so he could entwine his hands through the blue strands more completely. He tugged at her hair, and the moan that she released spurred him on even more. He licked over her lips, begging for entrance, begging to go deeper. His heart leapt as she opened her mouth, and their tongues met. After a few seconds Levy pulled away, trying to catch her breath before speaking.

"Since when did you have a tongue piercing?"

Gajeel grinned, poking his tongue out so Levy could inspect the new bar that ran through his tongue. He moved his hands down from her head to her arse, tracing his fingertips along the hem of her dress which had ridden up to provide him wonderful access to one of her best assets.

"I heard that a certain someone liked piercings. So I made myself a new one."

Levy blushed slightly, before deciding that she needed to taste more of Gajeel, lunging forward again to resume their kiss. Gajeel growled in the back of his throat, an inhuman noise that vibrated through his mouth and stirred something deep inside Levy. She deepened the kiss, grinding her hips against the ever growing lump that she felt against her core. She let a mewl escape into Gajeel's mouth, and he immediately responded by pulling her hips in closer to his.

Gajeel was revelling in the attention he was receiving from the girl on top of him, and moved his left hand up to fulfil the urge he had resisted ever since he saw Levy standing on his doorstep. He struggled to pull down the zip, but when he finally did he growled once more at the lack of a bra he found underneath. He moved his hand over her breast, and immediately played with the piercing which he knew would be there. The moan that left Levy's mouth was delicious, and he swallowed it immediately as if it were food and he hadn't eaten in months. The way she squirmed on his lap, the way she responded to every single move he made. He could feel the dragon inside him raising, feeling him start to take control, but it was too late for that now. He dug his nails into her skin, and was rewarded with another carnal moan, more base than the first, more animalistic. He knew that she was getting close, and it was him taking her there.

Levy's back arched, pushing further against him and trapping his arm between them. Their lips separated, she made her way down Gajeel's neck, teeth grazing against his skin and leaving faint red lines.

Two things happened at once. Firstly, the Dragon inside Gajeel rammed against its cage, fighting to be let out. Secondly, the movement wafted a wave of fresh air into his nose, and a moment of clarity swept through his head.

Not here. Not like this.

Gathering the rest of his strength, he pushed Levy off him, as gently as he could. Seeing her face looking up at him with confusion, lips bruised from the attention they had received, her hair and clothes in disarray nearly undoing all of his willpower, but he held strong.

"Levy, I can't do this."

She nodded almost imperceptibly, rearranging her dress to recover herself. Gajeel's head swam with the scent of their combined lust, and the small hint that told Gajeel that this would be her first time. He couldn't allow her first time to be so rough, it had to be special. Gajeel had to give her that at least. The smell was overcoming him, chipping away at his willpower with every second he stayed in that room. He needed to get fresh air, needed to get out of the house.

"Levy, I need to talk to you. Walk with me?"

Levy knew he was serious as soon as he used her name. She was surprised that he even knew it, she couldn't even remember the last time it escaped his lips. She nodded, moving herself off his lap gently and adjusting the hem of her dress to make herself decent. Her head still swam with lust, with longing to give herself up to Gajeel completely, and at the same time to take everything that Gajeel had to offer. But the serious look on his face, the fact that his hands were clenching so tightly on the arms of his chair that it was starting to splinter, told her that something was wrong. She took a few steps back, allowing Gajeel to stand slowly, and carefully make his way to the door. It was dark outside, and Levy knew that it would be cold. She regretted her decision not to bring a coat, before Gajeel pulled one off the hook and handed it to her. He opened the door for her, following her out. As soon as they were out in the fresh air he placed his arm around her, and they started to walk.


	14. Chapter 14

The two of them walked, hand in hand up a hill to the lone tree that stood up at the top, next to the edge of the semi-official Fairy Tail training grounds. Gajeel slowly wrapped his arm around Levy, pulling her close to share their heat. He never really felt the cold, something that he had never been able to explain but allowed him to walk out without a coat, which was advantageous at this moment as Levy had taken the only coat that he owned. He was glad that it wasn't raining though, and in fact if he was the kind of person to write poetry he would have said that it was the absolutely perfect night. A cool breeze blew across their path, clearing his nose of the scent that had driven him mad before and replacing it with the smell of the blossoming flowers that bloomed in the fields behind his house. He pulled Levy in closer to his side, loving the fact that she stepped in of her own accord and didn't hesitate. The breeze ruffled her hair and added to the mixture of Crocus's and roses along with the multitude of other flowers that he didn't know the name of. If he had to pick the best smell that night, it would be her. They walked along in silence, not meeting anyone on the way as they were so far out of the town and no one but the guild members came out here and they were all probably far too drunk to be bothered with training right now. They were about half way up the hill towards their destination when Levy stopped and pointed up at the sky.

"Look, there's the constellation of Leo... I wonder what Loke is doing right now."

Gajeel looked up at the constellation she was indicating, squinting to try and figure out just how the seemingly random collection of dots was supposed to make a lion. It looked more like a horse to him, and if he had been asked to guess which of the spirits that Bunny Girl owned it was supposed to indicate, he would have chosen Sagittarius. He had to admit that the sky was so much better out here than in the centre of the town. The stars were so much brighter, so much more plentiful and reminded him of the many nights he spent watching the stars with Metalicana back in his youth. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a tug at his arm, looking down he saw Levy smiling up at him, before moving off again and forcing Gajeel to fall back in step with her.

"You know; I haven't really seen him lately." Gajeel mused, trying to keep the conversation going while simultaneously lying so Levy didn't know about their plot, to send the Lion spirit to spy on the girls and give them, at least, a little advance warning. Not that it had done him any good. Levy's golden orbs looked towards the tree, her eyes twinkling with mirth, letting loose a stream of breath that blossomed out into the night, before burying her face into Gajeel's coat to hide her nose from the cold air.

"He came to see us earlier, but luckily Cana knows his weakness…"

She burst into giggles again, and Gajeel glanced down to see she had brought her spare hand up to her mouth to try and stifle it. He wished she didn't, he missed her angelic laughter as soon as they disappeared from his ears and he wished to hear them every moment of every day for the rest of his life. He shook his head, he couldn't get too far in until they had completed their discussion lest he lose control entirely this time, plus she had valuable information…

"Oh? What's the Casanova's weakness then?"

It would come in useful if he ever had to take him on, and he probably would if he ever wanted to achieve his goal to make Levy S-Class. Levy burst into another fit of giggles, and Gajeel almost regretted asking. It had to be bad if it was affecting her this much.

"Well," another burst of laughter interrupted her own sentence "when he gets horny he loses his grasp on Earthland and returns to the Celestial Spirit world."

The words escaped her mouth quickly, almost as if she were pushing them out so as to not interrupt herself again. Gajeel stopped in his tracks, before Levy tugged at his hand to keep him walking along the path in front of them. He wondered how Cana had ever figured that out, but in the end it didn't surprise him. He had been on the receiving end of many of Cana's drunken seduction attempts before, and he really didn't think that Loke would ever be strong enough to resist them. A wave of disappointment washed over him when he realised that he would never be able to do that himself. At least he thought so, you never quite knew with Loke… He pulled Levy close to his side again, the pair covering the last few metres to the tree, bringing them to a halt.

Levy hung back as Gajeel sat by the tree, leaning his back against it and sticking out his long legs in front of him. She saw him tilt his head back, closing his eyes to the world and resting his skull against the trunk. He beckoned to her to join him, and she shuffled slowly closer.

Taking a breath, she decided to be brave and sat herself down on his lap. Not like before, but like a child. She curled up her legs by his side and he wrapped his arms around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. She leant into his warmth, resting her head against his collarbone and joining him in closing her eyes. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her shoulder, and hear the shuddering thud of his heart in her ear. How his heart was beating so steadily, so slowly, was beyond her. She was sure that he could hear hers beating ten to the dozen, even if he didn't have super sensitive ears.

As they sat in mutual silence, her mind wandered back to the house. She thought that she was doing so well, believing that she had finally managed to get him to notice her feelings about him. Her breath hitched in her throat as she remembered him push against her stomach, forcing her to get off him. She felt tears well up in her eyes, now she hadn't only ruined her chances at a relationship but probably ruined their friendship as well. She mustered up her courage, and finally managed to break the silence between them.

"Gajeel I… I am so sorry. I wasn't thinking and…"

Her sentenced was interrupted by Gajeel pulling her in closer, pressing her hard against his chest. She looked up at him, to notice that his eyes were still closed against the world and face screwed up as if he was battling with himself to make a decision. She slowly started to rub circles on his arm, trying to calm him down slightly. She felt the muscles underneath her relax slightly, as Gajeel opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't apologise, Shrimp. You never need to apologise to me."

Levy pressed closer, hiding her head in Gajeel's shirt as she anticipated the worst. It's not you, it's me. I wouldn't be able to date such a weakling like you. She clenched her fists up in his shirt, before feeling Gajeel's hand move slowly around on her back, returning the movement that she had calmed him with. His hand was so warm against the cold of the night, and she wished that the fabric of her dress wasn't separating their skin.

"You have no idea how much I wanted to continue in there. You have no idea how hard it was for me to break away, but I had to talk to you about something first. I knew that it would be your first time, and I had to let you know all the facts before I let you go any further."

Levy's heart skipped a beat, her eyes snapping open staring straight at his hard chest, remembering that that was something that Dragon Slayer's were able to smell. Wendy had dropped that bombshell a few weeks after she joined the guild, much to everyone's dismay. But that still didn't stop her cringing at the fact that Gajeel had managed to figure it out so easily.

"You see, Levy, there's something else living inside me. I have two souls, one human and one Dragon. The Dragon comes out when I fight, when I get over emotional and when I get… Intimate."

Levy looked back up at Gajeel, watching his face twist more and more as he explained everything to her. It was something that she was only just learning, despite spending so much time around Natsu when they were younger. It made sense really, all of the Dragon Slayers seemed to get a lot more powerful when they were in heightened emotional states, and maybe this had something to do with it. She was pulled from her thoughts by Gajeel continuing his spiel, almost as if now he had started he never wanted to finish until all of his secrets were laid bare.

"It means that we would never be able to go slowly, we would never be able to be gentle, and as soon as the Dragon gets out I cannot put him back in until it is all over. I will hurt you, Levy, and there would be nothing that I can do to stop it. The choice is entirely yours. You can get up and walk away now, and I will never mention it again. We can go back to the way we were before; I won't push anything on you."

Gajeel took a deep breath, now the ball was out of his court and the decision was Levy's alone. It was almost a relief, in a way. He looked down at the woman on his lap and his heart jumped. If she made the decision to leave, he would respect it. Of course, he would have to leave Fairy Tail, but he would be able to get Mercenary work pretty easily after the success at the Grand Magic Games. He watched for what seemed like hours as Levy remained buried in his chest, and he wished that he could hear what she was thinking. But, alas, he would be cursed to wait for her to voice her concerns out loud.

Finally, her head started to turn up, ever so slowly, until her eyes were staring straight into his. They were the warmest colour Gajeel could imagine, and he knew that he could lose his mind if he stared into them for too long. Untangling her fingers from his shirt, she moved her hand up to his face, ever so slowly as if she thought that he would run if she made any sudden movements. Her skin felt smooth on his, so unlike the scars that covered his hands and arms.

"Can you remember what you told me earlier today, Gajeel?"

He looked down at her, wondering where she was going with her thoughts. He shook his head slightly, knowing that with their current proximity she would notice even the smallest of movements.

"You told me that this was an adventure that we would take together. I intend to hold you to that promise. I'm not going anywhere, no matter how hard you try to push me away."

Gajeel's eyes carefully watched her every movement as her face came closer to his before their lips pressed together again. It wasn't anything like the time earlier in the evening, this kiss was full of love rather than lust. He wrapped his arms more fully around her waist, and simply revelled in the feeling of her warm body on his. Her warm hands caressing the back of his neck, playing with his soft mane. After a few minutes, she broke away and adjusted so she could lean her back against him, resting her head on his shoulder and look up at the stars.

"It really is a beautiful night, Gajeel. Let's spend it together." Her voice filled with affection for the man behind her as he wrapped his arms around her front, his thumb idly rubbing on her soft hand that rested on top of his. Her hand squeezed his in what he imagined to her was tightly, but he barely felt it. She was so small, so tiny in his arms. But he guessed that was part of what attracted him to her. His protective nature kicked in and told him that Levy was someone to protect to the end of his days.

They sat there for an almost impossible amount of time, Levy resting against his chest as they watched the clouds slowly make their way across the sky above them, periodically hiding the stars away from their sight until they reappeared. The breeze continued to blow, pushing Levy's into Gajeel's face but he didn't care. If someone would have told him two years ago that he would have been sat here with such a beautiful woman, and in love, he would have knocked them out. But here he was, Black Steel Gajeel, with someone who trusted him enough to turn their back on him. He nuzzled his face down into her neck, hearing her breathing slow until he was sure that she was asleep. How did the girl that he made such a public show of feel so comfortable around him? Being able to fall asleep in his arms so peacefully, he still couldn't wrap his head around it. He chuckled to himself, it was happening far too much recently. He rose slowly to his feet, holding Levy in his arms like a child as he did. He paused for a second to make sure that she was still asleep before setting back off in the direction of his house.

It was easier than expected to get Levy up to his room, she was so tiny in his arms. For the second time in as many days he lay her down on his bed, and slowly removing her shoes. He lay them on the floor, before turning to her stockings. He pulled them slowly off her skin, purely out of love than any desire to do something to her while she was asleep. Piling blankets on top of her, he turned around to leave the room to sleep in Lily's bed when a tiny noise escaped Levy's mouth.

Looking back around, he could see her eyes cracked open slightly, her arms held out to call him back into the bed with her.

"Together" she mumbled, almost too jumbled for him to understand. Gajeel paused for a moment, before any remaining self-control he had ran out. He silently moved around to the other side of the bed, kicking off his shoes as he went and pulling off his shirt. As soon as he was under the covers, Levy had shuffled back into his embrace before falling back to sleep almost instantaneously. Gajeel sighed, his brain still trying to wrap itself around the events of the last few days. He looked down at Levy, somehow even tinier when she was asleep than any other time, and knew that he could get used to her falling asleep in his arms.


	15. Chapter 15

Levy groaned, unsure if she really wanted to wake up yet. There was no light streaming in through the window to her eyelids, but she was hot. She could feel the weight of hundreds of blankets lying on top of her, but that wasn't the only thing warming her up. She felt a rock hard wall against her back, and no matter how hard she pushed against it, it didn't budge. It was emanating heat and it took her a moment to realise that it was Gajeel lying behind her. She could feel his arm thrown across her waist, and one leg lazed across her knees pinning her down. But she didn't care.

She was wide awake now she discovered that Gajeel was lying there with her, and her mind wandered back to the night before. She could remember falling asleep on the hill while enclosed in Gajeel's arms, but how she made it into his bed was unknown to her. She wriggled her toes to find that her shoes were off, and the fact she could feel them slipping over each other told her that her stockings had gone too. Had she done that?

She slowly moved her hand up Gajeel's arm, pausing at each one of his piercings, circling it slowly before moving up to the next. She found it impossible to turn over, so instead she continued to use her fingers to ghost over his forearm, delicately tracing each of his scars, wondering the stories behind them. Maybe Gajeel would tell her one day. Lightly running her hand up and down his arm Levy's mind began trying to commit each inch of it to memory as her feet did the same to Gajeel's outstretched leg. She paused as she heard him sigh, scared that she had woken him up, but he simply readjusted until he was on his back and fell once again into a deep sleep. Levy tested the water by slowly turning herself around until she was face to face with him. He looked so peaceful lying there. As she reached her arm up to caress his cheek, Gajeel's breath hitched, making her believe temporarily that she had gone too far until the rhythm returned and she continued with her journey.

Each piercing was examined again, making sure they were all the same as when she had seen them yesterday. She ran a finger down his jawbone, smiling at the rough hairs that she found there. She had never seen Gajeel with even the slightest bit of beard before, but here it was. The hairs covered the majority of the lower half of his face, and down his neck. She mused what he would look like with a full beard, before deciding she preferred it this way. How would he even get hair to grow over the iron studs that were embedded in his skin? She giggled silently at the thought of Gajeel with a beard, before moving her hands further down.

She caressed his collar bones gently, feeling iron studs that she was sure that she had never seen before. Maybe the tongue piercing that Gajeel had given himself wasn't the only thing that he had done after he found out that she enjoyed his piercings. She committed each one to memory, three in each dip behind the collar bones before continuing on her mission. She dragged her fingertips down to his nipples, finding a ring in each one. She tugged at each gently, before realising that that was definitely something which would wake him up. She wondered if they gave him the same pleasurable effect that hers gave to her. She smirked as she realised that it was going to be a lot of fun finding that out. Levy progressively moved her petite hands down, gliding over each one of his abs individually until her fingertips hit a patch of course and wiry hair, it took her a second to realise what it was. She paused for a second, before her curiosity took over and she edged her hands lower. She reached the waistband of his trousers, finding more round studs on each of his hips before she scraped her nails along the line where it met his bare skin. Just before she snaked her fingers underneath, they were captured in another, larger pair.

"That's some dangerous territory you're wandering into, Shrimp."

Gajeel awoke when he felt Levy shimmy around in front of him, and when he felt her tiny hands rub up and down his arms he decided to let her play, just to see what she would do. He resisted the urge to smirk as she played with each piercing individually, forcing them to tug slightly at his skin. He toyed with the idea of making them come off in her hands, but decided to keep that plan for another day, when they were more comfortable in whatever relationship that they ended up in. He felt her caress all of his scars, forcing him to tighten his eyes so as to not stop her. He wasn't self-conscious as such, he just felt weird with someone so delicate inspecting his war wounds. He felt her soft feet sliding up and down his legs underneath his trousers and his resolve was almost undone, and forced himself to reposition so as to not give away the fact he was awake. He felt Levy pause, and knew that she was assessing whether or not she had woken him. He stayed as still as he possibly could, relaxing his eyelids as if he were asleep and refusing to allow her to figure out that he was just as awake as she was. After a few seconds, she must have been satisfied as she turned around and faced him directly. He almost jumped when her cold hand touched his face, but he managed to stay as still as he was before. She made her way down his face and heard her titter at the trace of beard he had at his chin. Well, that was an answer to the question whether or not she preferred a beard. He had better shave it off later.

He almost broke when he felt her hesitation at the piercings on his collarbone. They were a few of many that he had recently made after she had revealed to him that she found them attractive, and he wondered how long it would take her to find the rest. He really hoped that she would find them all soon. Even as he was thinking that, she found the next two piercings further down his body. She tugged on the rings he had created in his nipples, and sending thrills down his spine. He could definitely see why hers drove her mad, he had never felt pleasure from his nipples before but this was just insane. The more she played with them the more his cock responded, and he knew that he couldn't last much longer. Much to his either relief or dismay, depending on how he looked at it, she moved down further on his body and left his nipples alone. He definitely was going to pay more attention to her piercing in the future.

He clenched his eyes closed again as she scratched a line between his hips, and bit his tongue to stop himself from moaning out loud. He wouldn't be able to keep his façade up for much longer if she carried on any further down, and she didn't show any sign of stopping. Realising that this was a battle he was going to lose, he was going to have to stop her before she went any further. This was not the way he wanted it to go. He needed to control all the angles that could be controlled, before he lost it completely. He grabbed her hand in his, and opened his eyes as he caught hers staring up at him.

"Very dangerous territory indeed."

Gajeel used the arm that was still under Levy to pull her on top of him, revelling in how light she was. He grabbed hold of her thighs, only now realising that her dress had ridden up overnight and was now resting on her hips. He smirked at the shock on her face, her hair in disarray after her band was still laying downstairs. He pulled her face down to meet his, using his free hand to hold her jaw and partial cheek with his large calloused fingers touching her milky soft skin, he stopped as their noses barely touched, the movement being slightly rougher than she was anticipating. He could feel her breath speed up, and hear her heart beat louder in her chest. He loved how easily he could get her wound up, and wanted more than anything to finally go all the way this time. But first, he would need to get something sorted.

"Are you sure, Levy?"

Levy's heart was racing faster than she had ever felt it race before. Her legs fell either side of Gajeel's waist, the furthest they could reach with her nose remaining in contact with Gajeel's. He slowly, almost absentmindedly, stroked her nose with his as gently as he could, his piercings scraping across her skin as he did. She moved her head down, kissing his lips gently in response. She was sure that she was ready, plus she knew that if it didn't happen now then it would never happen. She moved her weight from her palms to her elbows, resting all of her weight on top of Gajeel's chest. After a few moments of the gentle kiss, Gajeel deepened it to show that he intended to take the embrace further.

Levy felt Gajeel's hands move up her thighs to push up her dress even further, before finally resting over her arse. She couldn't help but moan when they gripped it roughly, squeezing it in his hands over and over and causing her to moan louder each time. She swore she heard him chuckle in his throat, he was enjoying this just as much as she was it seemed. Her mouth fought for dominance with his, although she knew that if he were to take it seriously she would have no chance for the kind of control that she was currently wielding. Her body seemed so small in his, and yet she wasn't scared. She really couldn't say at what point she came to trust him, and at what point she completely fell in love with him, but she knew that she was head over heels now, and there was no turning back. She started to move her lips down to his neck, going gently at first before getting slightly rougher. No matter what she did she didn't seem to mark his skin at all, until she decided that it was definitely a challenge. Baring her teeth, she bit as hard as she could down on his skin but to no avail.

"I never would have thought that you would like it rough, Shrimp. But be careful not to start what you can't finish." Gajeel's gravelly voice echoed in her ears as he kept a tight hold of her arse with one hand and another running through her blue hair.

Levy couldn't keep up with the speed he flipped her over, and soon she found herself flat on her back with Gajeel somehow now on top of her. He had caught his weight on his elbows, something that Levy was thankful for as she knew that his weight would completely crush her if he were to let it rest on her. He grinned, obviously proud of his new position of power, and Levy found it strangely erotic. Once upon those eyes would have brought her fear, but now they caused her excitement to rise with the pure lust she found within them. Gajeel moved his head down slowly, toying with the skin where her neck met her shoulder and scraping it with his teeth. Levy gasped out loud, forcing the Dragon Slayer to stop for a moment to assess whether it was in pleasure or pain, before continuing downwards. His tongue licked along the neckline of her dress, and she could feel the cold chill of his piercing moving along her skin in delicious contrast to the heat of his tongue. Finally, he came to a stop in the middle, taking her zip between his teeth, before looking up at her.

Behind the lust that was apparent on his face, Levy could see him questioning whether he could go further. She knew then that she could just shake her head, and that would be the end of it. But she also knew that as soon as she did that, she would regret it for the rest of her life. Taking a deep breath, knowing that this was her last opportunity to back out and escape, she gave the waiting man permission. She expected him to tear with his teeth, and knew that if their positions were swapped that she would be removing his clothes ferociously in an attempt to gain more skin on skin contact. But Gajeel took it slowly, moving the zip down one tooth at a time, slowly revealing more of her silken skin by the second, until he was at the bottom.

In the time it took him to remove her dress, Levy's self-consciousness had kicked in. Sure, he had seen her topless before but that was in an entirely different context. Now she was in nothing but her knickers in front of him, and he was taking in every inch of her bare skin with his eyes. She started to curl in on herself, before Gajeel caught her arms, holding them up above her head with one hand with ease as he continued to inspect her.

"Don't hide. You are the most perfect woman I have ever seen."

Levy blushed, and she could see Gajeel noticed it spread all the way down to her chest. She had always been so insecure about her breasts, especially growing up around the other women in Fairy Tail, but the way Gajeel looked at her made her insecurities disappear. There was lust in those eyes, but also love. Maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way about her that she did about him.

Gajeel started to slowly make his way down her body, kissing every place he could reach and occasionally taking little nibbles on her skin. The pain shot pleasure to all areas of her body, and Levy couldn't help but gasp in her breaths. This wasn't the first time her body had been kissed, but Gajeel knocked her other experience out of the park. They hadn't even really started anything sexual yet, and yet she was already panting in his arms. The smirk on his face told her that he was enjoying teasing her, and eventually he looked up when he reached her breast.

"Now, I have learnt something today, Shrimp. I have learnt that nipple piercings can actually be quite pleasurable. But, I wonder, is that pleasure heightened for you? You see, curiosity may have killed the cat, but it only fuels the Dragon."

Levy moaned out loud as soon as he took her nipple into his mouth, teasing the piercing with his teeth as he did. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could feel him readjust his weight to his knees so he could use his now free hand to tease her other breast, almost doubling the pleasure that she was feeling. She squirmed beneath him, biting her tongue to stop herself from squealing. She couldn't give him that satisfaction, not yet. He continued with his attention, alternating between biting down on her nipple and licking it slowly.

"Gajeel, I…"

The man above her stopped his mission before looking up to her and grinning.

"What's that, Shrimp? You want me to stop?"

Levy shook her head violently, arching her back up towards Gajeel's mouth, wanting to move her arms only to realise he had bolted them together to prevent her from interfering with his ministrations. He dodged backwards, obviously enjoying teasing her. She groaned in frustration, but he still kept himself away from her. She struggled against where he had bolted her hands, and tried to use her legs to pull him down to her by hooking them around him but to no avail. She knew that she was being desperate, but at this point she didn't care at all. She just needed him right now. Eventually, after much struggling, Gajeel moved his head back down, but this time below her breasts, continuing on his journey down her body with both kisses and little bites. Levy held her breath as he made it down to her hips, and started to bite along the hem of her knickers. Once again he looked up at her for permission, and once again she nodded for him to carry on. He removed his hands from hers, before grabbing her last item of clothing at the seams and slowly removing them from her body to leave her entirely naked. She squirmed again, before Gajeel grabbed her hips and pulled her up into his mouth.

Her efforts to keep herself from screaming were completely wasted as soon as his tongue touched her. He sought out her clitoris immediately, teasing it with his tongue piercing, the difference between the warmth of his tongue and the cold of the metal driving her crazy almost immediately. His left hand returned back to her nipple, pulling on the piercing, while his right found her entrance and plunged in. The full assault of three erogenous zones at once almost overwhelmed her system, and she started to scream louder. She had pleasured herself enough times to know that her orgasm was close, but she had never felt it as fast as she did right then. She felt another finger enter her, and suddenly both fingers turned cold inside of her to tip her over the edge. Her entire body tensed up and she heard her own scream reverberate around the walls as she came. Her mind blanked out, and pleasure shot to every extremity of her body. Gajeel kept to slowly licking her clit to elongate her pleasure, but soon she had finished and was left sweating and breathless. She looked down her body to where Gajeel was resting in between her legs, before he slowly withdrew his fingers, allowing Levy to see that he had moulded them into one metal pole. He placed it into his mouth, licking all of her juices off it before he moved up the bed in line with her, resting himself on one elbow and slowly making circles on her stomach with his spare hand. Levy lay with her eyes closed, trying desperately to catch her breath.

"I never thought that you could be more beautiful, but once again I was wrong."

Levy opened her eyes, seeing Gajeel staring down at her breaking the iron cuffs that held her in place. His hair was even more disarray than it normally was and his smirk was much less intimidating than normal. Levy pulled herself up, raising up her hand to pull Gajeel down for a kiss. She could taste herself on his lips, and the way it mixed with his normal taste almost drove her crazy. She wrapped her arms fully around him, before pushing at him to turn him over onto his back. She knew that if he truly resisted her that she wouldn't have a chance, but he allowed himself to be toppled. She felt his hands stroke up and down her back as she deepened their kiss, grasping his hair in her hands. She pulled away from him, taking his body in as one. His chest was littered with various scars, but Levy didn't care. In her mind every single scar told a story, and Gajeel's body told a lot of stories. She moved her mouth down to gently tug at both of his nipple piercings, hearing the growl in the back of his throat as she did. She stayed there for a few moments, before making her way down to the top of his trousers, staring up at Gajeel as she took the top of them in her hands.

"You're still wearing far too many clothes, Gajeel." Levy's husky voice sent electricity shooting down his spine as she smirked erotically.

The man underneath her lifted his hips to allow her to remove the remainder of his clothes, leaving him completely bare in front of her.

She didn't know why she didn't expect it, he had piercings everywhere else so why wouldn't he have them there? She gulped at the four studs that lined either side, with a ring that pierced the head. Not only was it much more decorated than all the other cocks she had seen, it was also bigger. She was suddenly more than a little nervous at what she had gotten herself into. She heard Gajeel chuckle, and looked up to see his smirk.

"Did you add these because I said I like piercings?"

Gajeel shook his head, moving his hands to play with her hair falling either side of her face.

"Nope, they have always been there Shrimp. Why, did I surprise you?"

He chuckled again, which was promptly cut short when Levy stuck out her tongue to lick the circumference of the ring. It may be a lot different to the ones that she had seen before, but the basic principle had to be the same, right?

She used her tongue to connect the dots on the left side of his shaft, before swirling it around the head to connect the ones on the right. She may not have much experience, but she had heard Cana and Mira discuss these things, so at least she had the knowledge of the best tactics to use. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, and let her lips move all the way down his shaft until she couldn't fit any more of him inside of her.

Gajeel growled again, and Levy took it as a sign that she was doing something right. She swirled her tongue around in her mouth, before pulling back out again and letting it fall out with a pop. Gajeel was staring down at her, mouth clenched as if he was trying to hold something back. A wave of curiosity washed over Levy, and now she wanted to see him let go. She wanted to be the one who made him lose all control. Tipping her head forward again, she took him back into her mouth and started to slowly move her head back and forth.

"Levy, I'm not going to be able to hold back much longer if you do that."

Levy pulled up so just the head was in her mouth, staring up into Gajeel's eyes as she once again licked up his entire length, before trying to fit more inside her than she had before. She nearly gagged as it hit the back of her throat, annoyingly way before she could wrap her lips around the base. She heard Gajeel growl again, and could feel the warmth of his hands hovering behind the back of her head.

"Last chance, Shrimp."

Levy closed her eyes, and unleashed her secret weapon. Something that she had heard drove men mad, curtesy of Cana of course. She started to hum, hoping the vibrations she made would tip Gajeel over the edge.

She got her answer as Gajeel grabbed onto her hair, pulling her mouth off him and throwing her back onto the bed in one smooth motion. She didn't even have time to gasp before his mouth was once again at her neck, this time biting hard into the skin. Her back arched up to meet him, as he lined himself up with her entrance before pulling his head back and staring into her eyes.

"I'm gonna try and go slow. Tell me to stop if it hurts you." His breath ragged.

Levy nodded, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Gajeel's skin kept switching from metal to his normal skin as he struggled to hold his dragon back, and Levy decided to just stay still and let him sort everything out for himself. She knew that it was going to hurt, and now it was just a matter of doing what would make it hurt as little as possible.

She felt Gajeel pressing at her entrance, and slowly but surely he entered her. She knew as soon as he hit the barrier inside her, both due to the slight pressure and the fact he stopped completely to catch his breath. His skin was now spending more time as metal than before, and she could see that he was losing his grip on his control.

"Levy, I am going to go in fast but then I am going to stop. You're going to have to tell me when it stops hurting, and then I will start again. Are you ready?"

Levy nodded, and instantly Gajeel snapped his hips, and she felt him fill her completely. Her body wracked with pain, but it started to loosen as her muscles got used to him being inside of her. She could see him gritting his teeth, and he spat out his sentence through them.

"Levy, I'm not going to be able to hold back much longer."

She moved her hips slightly, trying to force herself to adjust faster, and heard an inhuman growl rise up from Gajeel's throat. She guessed it was too late now, but spoke to him anyway.

"You can go now, Gajeel."

The transformation was instantaneous. All of Gajeel's skin turned to metal, and shadows started to whip around her and contain both of them, blocking out the outside world. Looking into his eyes, she could see only white and nothing else. But her eyes quickly closed as Gajeel started to move inside of her, each thrust getting faster until she was screaming out his name. She tried to reach around to scratch up his back, but his iron hands grabbed hers and held them above her head refusing to let her move.

"I think you have forgotten who is in control here, girl."

His voice came out as a growl, a few octaves lower than any she had heard before and filled with gravel. She moaned as he moved his head down to her shoulder, piercing the skin and forcing her to scream in pain. Whatever was left of Gajeel must have heard, because he licked across it slowly, relieving the pain a little before the tiny speck of him was gone and just the monster remained.

Levy was getting used to the speed of his thrusts, and slowly moved her legs up to wrap around his back. She gasped at the change in the angle, and it was met with a growl erupting from Gajeel's throat. Another chuckle was let loose from his body, and Levy knew that she wouldn't be able to last much longer.

"Gajeel, I…"

Her voice was ignored, and instead the man on top of her let go of her arms, moving his hands down to her hips instead to once again change the angle. She felt her hips being pulled upwards, legs still wrapped around his torso, as Gajeel knelt. He kept his thrusts in the perfect rhythm, somehow not phased at all by the change in position, but now the ring at the tip of his cock was hitting an entirely different spot deep within her, and she screamed as she orgasmed. Apparently it was all Gajeel needed, as he roared. Levy was sure that she felt the walls shake with the pure force of the noise that escaped him and a small part in the back of her head was glad that he lived so far out away from civilisation. She could feel his cock pulse inside of her, and it pushed her over the edge again. As the pleasure wracked through her body she screamed again, and this time she knew that she was completely spent. She collapsed down on the bed, breathing heavily as she felt Gajeel collapse on top of her.

It was weird feeling his skin turn back to normal as it was pressed against hers, but she enjoyed it all the same. As soon as all of the cold metal was replaced with warm flesh, she knew that Gajeel was back to normal. He immediately rolled off of her, and as soon as he hit the bed he pulled her front close to him, nuzzling his nose into her hair. She enjoyed the warmth of his body enveloping her, and at this moment she knew that she could spend the rest of her life like this.

"I didn't hurt you too much, did I Levy?"

His voice was back to normal, albeit slightly sleepier than before. His spare hand rubbed circles on her back, forcing Levy's eyes to close as well. She shook her head, enjoying the way her nose rubbed against the skin of his chest. Although the shadows that had been surrounding her had gone, she knew that it was barely dawn, so they could definitely afford to lay in a little longer. Gajeel pulled her in closer, and she could tell that his protective side was coming out now. She was just about to fall asleep in his arms, before she was jerked awake by him exclaiming.

"Shit!"

Levy looked up at him, meeting his eyes staring back down at her in panic. She cocked her head in confusion, telling him silently to carry on with whatever had freaked him out.

"Fuck fuck fuck, we didn't use any protection…"

Levy giggled, burying her face back in Gajeel's chest again. Now she knew what he was panicking about, it was more than a little amusing to watch him panic.

"It's ok. Erza forced us all to take birth control as soon as we hit puberty. It was pretty terrifying at the time, but I can see why she did it."

She felt Gajeel physically relaxing around her, and smiled to herself relieved with the sense of panic that had rolled off of him. She was sure that all the men in Fairy Tail knew about Erza's campaign, but obviously not this one. She felt the need to sleep overcome her once again, her body physically drained of all energy except one. She could feel her magic power coursing through her veins, much higher than normal. That was definitely something she would have to read up on…

Before long, they both lay asleep in the bed, Levy's head resting against Gajeel's chest while he wrapped his body around hers protectively. For the first time since anyone could remember, the blankets that normally piled up high on Gajeel's bed lay across the floor leaving them both bare on the bed. At this moment, nothing could touch them.


	16. Chapter 16

Levy shuffled in her sleep, desperately trying to avoid the sunlight that was starting to creep in through her eyelids. She had had another dirty dream, making it two in the same amount of nights. There must have been something about sleeping in Gajeel's bed that forced her to think dirty thoughts.

She tried to turn around to try and avoid the light, but found herself caught in arms of steel, and the slight movement made her realise that she was actually completely naked. Now fully awake, her eyes shot open to see Gajeel's arms wrapped around her, and the full memory of what happened what must have only been a few hours before flooded into her memory. So, it wasn't a dream then. Now all of her senses were waking up she could feel Gajeel's skin against hers, and smiled. She had done it. She had finally claimed him as hers.

She lay there for a while, revelling in all of her senses being overtaken by Gajeel and Gajeel alone. Her ears were filled with the sounds of his steady breathing, and her back tingled where it touched his chest. His smell enveloped her, and she focused all of her thoughts on the olive skin and the way it contrasted against hers. Here, lying in his arms, she felt like nothing could touch her. The world could come crashing down around her and she wouldn't care.

She knew that Gajeel was waking up after she heard groaning behind her, and the arm laying on top of her retracted as he rubbed the sun from his eyes. A sense of panic washed over her, what if he regretted everything that had happened the night before? What if in the light of the day he looked at her and realised what a mistake he had made? Her worries were immediately melted away as his arm found his way back around her waist, and he pulled her into his chest.

"Well, this is the best view I have ever woken up to." A drowsy rumble left Gajeel's mouth.

Levy blushed, turning around in his arms to look into his eyes. They shone in the sunlight, and she knew without fail that the dragon bar he had given her was based on him. She wiggled in closer, before placing a kiss in the middle of his chest. They adjusted slightly, until Gajeel was lying on his back with Levy resting her head on his shoulder, and playing with his hair with her right hand.

"How ya doing today, Shrimp?"

Levy smiled, twisting knots into Gajeel's hair. She wriggled slightly, feeling a dull ache deep inside her from their activities a few hours before. Gajeel pulled her closer, placing a kiss on her crown before pausing to smell her hair.

"Still a bit sore, but ok. How are you feeling today, Gajeel?"

She felt his muscles tense, and immediately felt guilty at bringing up the pain that she felt. But almost as quickly as they tensed they relaxed again, and made Levy wonder if they had ever tensed at all. He removed his arms from around her and stretched, joints popping as he did, before he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'm feeling pretty good. Could do with a shower though. Care to join me?"

He looked over his shoulder, with a grin that Levy just couldn't resist. She nodded, before watching his muscles move under his skin as he stood, stretching once again before turning around and offering her his hand.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Gajeel smiled as he felt the small hand in his as Levy followed behind him into the bathroom. He refused to turn around to look at her until he had turned on the shower, fiddling with the settings until he could get the largest spray possible. The thing he hated the most about sharing showers was always having to switch around who was in and who was out of the shower. He turned around, and saw Levy standing there completely bare and gorgeous. She was playing with her fingers in front of her body, and a blush had stretched all the way down her face and to her chest. He covered the space between them in one stride, and grabbed her around the waist.

"Time to clean you off, Shrimp."

He picked her up easily, and walked into the shower with her. He smiled at her embarrassment and the way she buried her head in his chest. He put her under the water, before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up at him. Her eyes were wide and almost doe like, and made his legs feel a little weak. No other woman had ever made him go even slightly weak at the knees, but Levy made him almost want to collapse completely. The water falling on her head disrupted her smell, and almost forced her scent into his nose. It was somehow more concentrated than before, although he could pick up small hints of him within it. Now more than ever he hoped that Natsu's sense of smell wasn't yet good enough to detect that they had finally consummated their relationship.

He noticed Levy starting to curl in on herself again, trying to hide her body from him. He didn't stop her, and instead cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"Don't hide, Shrimp. You're beautiful. The most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

Levy smiled up at him, before she raised her arms and wrapped them around his waist, pulling him closer into her.

"I guess after last night; I have nothing to hide."

She smiled up at him, and his knees almost gave out again. Leaning down, he kissed her gently and stepped forward so they were both covered by the water. This time it was Levy's turn to deepen the kiss, and at the same time he felt her squeeze his arse. He chuckled into the kiss, loving the confidence she had found. He lowered his hands, returning the gesture immediately. Levy's teeth scraped across his lips, and made him groan involuntarily. Yup, she was definitely coming out of her shell.

He dropped his head to her neck, adding marks to the ones he had left there previously. Her whole body was covered in bruises and bite marks, and just the sight turned him on incredibly. He wasn't anticipating this, when he invited her to join him in the shower he was genuinely expecting them just to have a wash without anything sexual. At least, that was his story and he was sticking to it. He knew that it was never going to work when he felt her nails scratch up his back, and a groan was almost forced out of his throat. He was way too far gone now.

Grabbing her thighs, he forced her back up against the wall and wrapped her legs around his waist in one smooth movement. His mouth found its way up to hers again, and he felt her fingers entangle in his hair. Their tongues battling for dominance, and he could feel the dragon fighting against the cage inside of him to get out. He bunched his hands up into fists under Levy, and tried desperately to ignore the fact her core was rubbing against his crotch. He had to take it slowly, had to be as gentle as possible for her. He gasped for breath, trying to hold out as long as possible, but Levy apparently had other ideas. Her head moved down to his neck, and he felt her teeth gently scrape against his skin, not enough to pierce it but enough to feel damn good. The dragon inside him took a run up to its cage and slammed into the bars, making them shake violently. They wouldn't survive another hit.

Levy's hair was now soaked in water, and lay plastered to her scalp. Gajeel's breath came in gasps, the mixture between Levy's teeth on his neck and her fingernails scraping over his scalp made his cock twitch, and the dragon lined himself up for another shot.

"Levy…" He breathed heavily, trying to keep his mind in control despite the pleasurable bites and scratches the woman in his arms was trying to overthrow.

She responded by moving her head down to his nipple, and taking the ring she found there into her teeth and pulling. His dragon ran at its cage at full speed, and finally broke free. Gajeel's rational mind was slowly taken over, and he felt iron scales come out of his skin involuntarily, with the shadows seeping from his body to darken the room around them. Levy looked up to him, looking strangely smug before his control was lost completely and he simply got to watch his body move without his consent.

The Dragon readjusted, thrusting it's cock into Levy full force, and Gajeel felt shivers run up his spine, both from the stimulation Levy gave him and the look of pure pleasure that overcame her face. A scream filled his ears, and he felt the slight tug of her hands pulling in his hair. All of his senses were dullened, and he wondered whether this was what it felt like to be fully human. He felt like his skin was being touched through heavy clothing, and all of the noises were heard through a thick wall. The only sense that he could use to its full potential was his sight, and he was using it to concentrate on Levy's face and commit it to memory. It was twisted in such a wonderful expression of pure bliss, eyes screwed tightly shut and lips almost bruised as she moaned loud enough for him to hear. The dragon was grabbing onto her arse, nails digging into her skin and pounding into her core over and over again. He felt Levy's walls spasming around him as she came, screams filling his ears as her desire was evident when she finally opened her eyes. He got a brief glimpse of her brown irises under her heavily lidded eyes before the dragon bent his head and bit into her skin. Levy screamed again, and her legs compressed around his waist to pull him further into her. Gajeel used the remainder of his control to once again lick the blood off of Levy's neck, hoping that it would soothe the pain a little for her. In that moment, all of his senses came flooding back to him like a wall of pleasure, but as soon as it was done, the dragon took over again and Gajeel's control was gone entirely.

He continued to watch as the Dragon left more marks over Levy's neck, shoulders and chest, and wondered whether he would leave so many that they would all blend into one. He could feel the pleasure build up inside him as his release got closer and closer, but as soon as Levy pulled his hair again he was done.

If the Dragon usually dulled his senses, its presence increased his orgasms ten-fold. As soon as it started the Dragon released its hold, and the pleasure flooded into Gajeel's body like a dam bursting. With the Dragon's last vestige of control he roared as he released his seed into the woman in front of him, and finally Gajeel was left breathless. He pulled out of Levy slowly, and balanced her on the ground in front of him as he leant on the wall for support.

"You promised me that we would be getting clean, but you just made me dirtier."

Levy's comment was accompanied by a giggle as she left a kiss on his cheek, brushing her wet hair out of her face.

"Now, are you going to shout at me for using your shampoo again?"

Gajeel shook his head, smiling as he tried to regain some energy. Levy was definitely going to kill him.

Gajeel had just managed to catch his breath when he felt Levy tug at his shoulders, trying to pull him down to her height. He looked at her confused, before bending her knees to draw her eyes level with his. Before he had a chance to ask her what she was doing, he felt something cold on his head. Standing up quicker than he thought was possible, she revealed she had squirted shampoo on his head, and was smiling up at him.

"Can I wash your hair?"

Her eyes were pleading, and even though it was something that Gajeel had never let anyone do before, he just couldn't deny her. Turning around to let her get easier access to his hair, he bent his knees again to allow her to lather up the shampoo. Her fingers felt great on his scalp as she massaged the shampoo in, forcing Gajeel to close his eyes in relaxation. She continued to lather down his hair, rubbing the strands in between her hands to make sure that they were all covered in the suds that were now seeping out of her fingers. After a few minutes of massaging, she tapped him on the back to prompt him to move backwards and into the water. He couldn't lie, the warm water felt amazingly good against his skin and teamed with her fingers making circles across his skin he felt like he had died and gone to heaven. He simply revelled in the wonderful feelings of bliss, wondering just what he had done in life to end up with such perfection.

Levy finally stopped moving her hands in his hair, and Gajeel took the opportunity to return to his full height, thankful for the chance to allow his knees to relax. He turned around to see Levy still holding the bottle and asking him a question with her eyes alone.

Taking the bottle off her, he waited for her to turn around so her back was to him. He resisted the urge to look down and stare at her perfect arse, but he failed almost immediately. He smacked it gently, forcing Levy to squeal and jump, but he simply bent down to kiss her shoulder, telling her that it was just a one off thing. He squirted some of his shampoo into his hand, and his inner dragon stayed quiet, happy to share its possessions with the human that provided it such pleasure mere minutes before. Rubbing it between his palms, he grabbed onto fistfuls of her hair and piled it all on top of her head.

He was aware that this is how people with short hair washed it, but it was an awfully long time since his own hair had been short enough to pile on top of his head. Her hair was silky, so much different to his rough hair, and his fingers glided through it easily. He allowed the pads of his fingers to brush across her scalp, enjoying the tiny moans that erupted from her throat. Reaching up, he grabbed the shower head and held it closer to her scalp, massaging it with the water and holding his hand carefully so as to not let any drip into her eyes. He made sure that every last trace of shampoo had gone from her hair, before grabbing his conditioner and passing it over to her. She turned around to look at him, eyeing the bottle he was holding with mild confusion.

"It's conditioner, Shrimp. Please don't tell me that you don't use it."

Levy shook her head, grabbing the bottle from him and trying to read the instructions on the back. Gajeel sighed, taking it back from her and indicating for her to turn around.

"No wonder your hair is so frizzy in the rain. You need to use conditioner to give you nice, strong hair otherwise it simply won't grow."

Levy giggled, unsure what she felt about Gajeel giving her tips on how to care for her hair. Although, if you looked at the length and thickness of Gajeel's hair compared to hers it made sense. She closed her eyes as Gajeel's fingers combed their way through her hair again, not bunching it up this time and instead just massaging it into her locks. It was surreal seeing someone like Gajeel show so much care to something that seemed so feminine, but it gave her a warm feeling inside as she knew that this was a side of him that only she got to see. She opened her eyes as she heard Gajeel put down the bottle, and pick up a bottle of shower gel from the side.

"You need to let the conditioner sit for a little while. I'm just gonna wash your body while we wait."

She felt his hands slide down her back, reaching almost to her arse before making their way back up again. Slowly making their way down her arms, until his fingers entwined in hers for a second before continuing on their journey. She felt him step closer behind her to wrap his arms around her front, spreading the soap across her stomach and up to her breasts. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt him squeeze them roughly, and when she looked down to see his massive hands covering her breasts completely, unfortunately, she saw something else as well.

"Gajeel! I am covered in bruises!"

Her voice sounded a lot more annoyed than she intended it to, but Gajeel simply chuckled and rubbed the soap over her chest and up to her neck.

"Gajeel! Everyone's going to see!"

She turned around, stamping her foot as she did. Gajeel looked down at her, amusement in his eyes as she pretended to be angry with him. He ran his fingers over the bruises, gently enough to not cause her any pain, before bending over to lick over the teeth marks that she only just noticed.

"Gajeel! You can't just mark me as your own like that!"

His tongue stopped, before it retracted back into his mouth and he stood up again. He sighed, before turning Levy around to wash the conditioner out of her hair. Levy sighed, knowing that he was using the good feeling of the water massaging her hair to distract her from the topic.

She moaned, before musing to herself just what she was going to do to hide the marks that she was now noticing all over her.

"I'll have to go and see Cana, she'll know what to do."

Cana awoke as soon as someone pounded on her door. She groaned at the amount of sunlight streaming in through her window, it appeared they had gotten slightly too drunk last night to remember to draw the curtains. She tried to remove herself from Bacchus' embrace, but the man moaned and pulled her in closer.

The banging on the door resumed.

Finally shoving her kind-of boyfriend off, she stood up and allowed herself to stretch.

"Calm your fucking boots, I'm coming."

She made her way over to the door, stepping over discarded clothing and bottles from the night before, before putting an eye to the peep hole. She saw nothing but a black t-shirt. That could mean literally anyone. Swinging the door open, she was confronted by Gajeel blocking her entire doorway. He looked kind of… embarrassed.

"Morning Drunkard." He paused as he looked her up and down. "… Naked Drunkard."

Cana stepped aside, allowing him to enter. Practically everyone at the Guild had seen her naked before, and she really didn't care. As soon as Gajeel was in the door she closed it and indicated for him to take a seat at the table in the middle of the room. He unceremoniously removed a pair of her knickers from the closest chair, before throwing himself down and putting his boots up on the table.

"What can I do you for?" Cana shouted, as she rifled through her drawers for something clean to wear. As she was doing so, Bacchus finally dragged himself out of bed, stretching up before grabbing a pair of boxers from the floor.

"Morning, Gajeel."

Gajeel nodded to the man, before looking back over to Cana, finally wearing something. Even if that something was only a bra and knickers.

"Shrimp's sorting some stuff out in her flat and I thought I might come pay you a visit."

Cana laughed, sitting herself down opposite the man and crossing her legs in front of her. Bacchus made his way over to the fridge, shoving his loose hair out of his eyes repeatedly before grabbing the remaining beer. He sauntered over casually, offering one to Gajeel which he gratefully accepted.

The thing that Cana loved about Gajeel was, like her, he never turned down a pint. As she always said, it had to be five o'clock somewhere.

"You two do know that it overwhelmingly stinks of sex in here, right?"

Bacchus laughed, slapping the table as he did.

"Of fucking course we do. I don't think there is an inch of this apartment we didn't fuck on last night."

Gajeel sighed, taking another long drink from his beer. Things that he really did not want to think about…

They made less than polite conversation for a while, and soon the room was filled with laughter. It came as no surprise that when there was a knock on the door, it was only Gajeel that actually heard it.

"Shrimp's outside." He said flatly, knowing now that it was awfully impolite to let someone into someone else's home.

Cana got up, walking over to the door and looking through to see nothing but a hint of blue hair. Giggling at the lack of height her friend possessed, she swung open the door to invite her in. Her hair was tied back with a black hairband, and she was wearing her shorts from the day before along with a black tank top. Cana almost laughed out loud at how much she looked like Gajeel.

"Baby Blue! How you doing babe?"

Levy blushed slightly at the general state of undress Cana was in, but it wasn't like it was anything she hadn't seen before. Coming around the door, she saw Gajeel sat at the table with Bacchus, who was in nothing but his underwear. She stopped in her tracks.

"Do you want us to give you two sometime to, you know, get dressed?"

Cana laughed, simply closing the door behind Levy and pulling her over to the table. She sat down on the chair next to Gajeel, politely declining the bottle of alcohol Bacchus offered her.

"What is it with you two and your aversion to clothing?"

Bacchus tilted his head back with laughter, leaning back on his chair as he did.

"If you've got it, flaunt it baby."

Gajeel allowed his hand to rest gently on Levy's lap, subconsciously claiming her as his own. Cana sat back on her chair, and picked up her bottle again.

"You know, I wish you two would come and visit me just to see me once in a while, not just when you need something from me."

Levy looked in confusion at her, making her wave her hand in explanation.

"Gajeel comes to me with how to get Levy to like him, Levy comes to me about how to get Gajeel to fuck her…"

"Cana!" Levy exclaimed, although secretly feeling slightly happy that Gajeel had approached someone for advice regarding her.

"What, I can tell by the state of you that you two were fucking like rabbits last night."

This time it was Gajeel's turn to laugh, as Bacchus leaned across the table for a high five. Usually Gajeel didn't bother to celebrate such things, but even he wasn't evil enough to leave a guy hanging like that. Cana stood up, leaving her beer on the table and giving a look to the boys to dare to even think about taking it, before she grabbed Levy's hand to lead her to the bathroom.

"Well, we have two choices. You can either wear a pullover for the rest of the day, however it is getting warmer out and people may give you looks."

She bent over to rifle through some of her bathroom cabinets, before exclaiming and standing up with a bottle in her hand.

"Or, you can use this."

The liquid was swirling and a pale blue, and Levy took it to read the label.

"It will make the marks disappear, but you need to put it on every four hours or so."

Levy pulled Cana into a hug, she had almost literally saved her life. She didn't know what she would do if the entire guild saw her like this. Cana hugged her back, pressing her a little further into her breasts than necessary. Levy had a feeling that the alcohol from the night before hadn't fully worn off yet.

They pulled apart, and Cana showed Levy how best to apply the potion onto her skin. It was cold, and it tingled but in a good way. Looking in the mirror, she could see that it had made every single one of the marks disappear. Cana held her at arm's length, making sure she had gotten everything before speaking up.

"You're not getting away with this, you know. You are going to tell us everything."

Levy nodded, she knew that all of the girls were expecting an update from her as to how her new outfits worked. She opened her mouth to tell Cana, but the taller girl put a finger on her lips.

"Now, you know it wouldn't be fair to tell me and not tell anyone else. Besides, I think we need to go out there and save your boyfriend from mine."

Levy tilted her head in confusion, before Cana lead her out to see Gajeel engaging Bacchus in a drinking contest.

A minute. She was gone for less than a minute and they had descended into chaos. She knew that Gajeel could drink a lot, but she also knew that it was nowhere near Cana, and therefore nowhere near Bacchus. Cana cleared her throat, almost throwing Levy at Gajeel to get his attention. Gajeel caught her easily, and gracefully turned her around to sit on his lap.

"Now, boys and girls, it has been lovely seeing you but I haven't had my morning fuck yet and thus I am starting to get cranky."

Levy blushed as Bacchus jumped to his feet, grabbing a hold of Cana and picking her up to throw her back onto the bed. Gajeel had never seen the Shrimp move faster in his life, and before he could say anything they were out of the door and heading to the guild.

He smiled to himself as he walked through the morning streets, sun beating hard on his skin. Fairy Tail sure was a crazy guild.


	17. Chapter 17

Levy and Gajeel walked into the guild, making their way to the table that Gajeel had claimed as his own. A few of the other members looked up, and Gajeel could hear the whispers of everyone around, but he simply did not care. Levy had once again broken the physical connection between them before they walked in the door, but they were still subtly brushing against each other as they walked across the centre of the guild hall. Gajeel swung the large bag he was carrying on his shoulder up onto the table, before sitting down.

"So, are you going to order or am I?"

Levy smiled, grabbing the bag off the table and making her way over to the bar. She knew what Gajeel's usual order was now. Well, if she was honest she had known his normal order for quite a while, but after physically sitting next to him she now had an excuse to be able to order for him. She lifted the bag up onto the bar, and started separating out all of the jobs that she had completed over the past weekend. Some of them were entire books, accompanied with an entire sheaf of paper that she had tied together with a piece of string. Some of the others were just a small scribbled note on the back of a napkin, to which she had paper clipped the translation. She had even managed to translate the rest of the play she was working on when Gajeel first came to her apartment while she was getting ready to head out for the day, she picked up the entire stack of papers and placed them on their own. Mirajane walked over, cleaning a glass as she did, and looked down at the stack of papers on the table as Levy attached the original flyer to each one.

"It looks like you have been busy, Levy. You handing them all in?"

Levy nodded, finally pushing them over to Mira when she finished. She smiled up at the barmaid, who collected them all up and placed them into folders that she kept under the bar. She grabbed the money that had been collected from Levy's previous batch of jobs and passed it over to her. Levy smiled, putting it in her bag and closing it up tightly.

"Thanks Mira! Oh, can I get a Dragon sized breakfast and a beer, and another small breakfast with an apple juice please?"

Mira grinned, now that business was over it meant that she could finally gossip. Writing down the order, she looked over to Gajeel sat at the table on his own and noticed both of their hair was still wet, along with the fact that they had both come in together at the same time meant that something good must have happened.

"So… Did your new clothes work last night?"

She winked down at the younger girl sat at the bar, loving how the blush immediately sprung up on her cheekbones. Levy had never been good at lying, and the way she wriggled in her seat as she tried to work out what to say told Mira more than words ever could.

"Yeah, well I went over to his house and…"

Mira squealed, leaning over the bar to grab the solid script mage into a hug. Freed and Bickslow turned around at the noise, before looking over to Gajeel and shooting him a double thumbs up. The Dragon Slayer growled at them, causing Freed to turn back around but Bickslow simply grinned, allowing his tongue to loll out. Mira pulled back, holding onto Levy's shoulders and staring into her eyes.

"You have to come over to our house later and we'll talk about it. I'll cook, and invite all of the girls over as well. It will be fun!"

Levy sighed, she knew that she wasn't going to hide it for long anyway. She simply nodded, before Mira walked off to the kitchen to get their breakfasts. Lisanna walked her way over to Levy, holding the drinks that she had ordered and winked as she passed them across the bar to her.

"Here you go! Looking forward to seeing you later!"

Levy knew that there was no use arguing with one of the Strauss siblings, let alone two, simply smiling at the younger girl before turning around to see Gajeel glaring at everyone he could lay his eyes on. Picking up their drinks, she walked carefully over to the table before sliding up next to him and handing him his beer.

"So, you're going to be interrogated tonight then?"

Levy nodded, squeezing his thigh in her hand as she did to try and calm him down. He groaned slightly as he knew that as soon as the girls disappeared he would be stormed by the males of the guild as well. There was not a chance that he was going to be let off easily, no matter how much he tried to scare people away with his cold demeanour it just didn't seem to work.

"Anyway, did you get much for those translation jobs? It looked like you did an insane amount of work on those papers."

Levy giggled, pulling out the pouch of Jewels that Mira had given her and pouring them out on the table, taking her time to count them.

"Nah, this is the stuff that I got for my last translation job. I should be getting around five times as much for the work I just handed in."

Gajeel watched in silence as she counted it out, and made out around 350,000 jewel in the little pouch. No wonder she never seemed to complain about her lack of money, despite the ridiculous amount of books she was always purchasing. He never really thought that there was much money in translations, but it looked like she was pulling in almost as much money as him. He was just about to make a comment, when Mira came over and interrupted his thoughts.

"One Dragon sized breakfast, and one normal breakfast!"

The demons smile was sickly, as she placed the plates down on the table and examined the pair closely. Gajeel smiled back, showing his fangs in threat, just daring her to make a comment. Of course he didn't want to actually fight her, but he hoped that her fear of the guild being destroyed would make her back down. She simply smiled back, winked suggestively and turned to look at Levy.

"I completely forgot earlier, but someone dropped this book off earlier to be translated. I told him that you would have a look at it, but he kept saying it was urgent and he would pay for it to be completed by tomorrow. Is that something you can get done?"

Levy looked down at the book. It wasn't as old as some of the books she decoded, but it must have been going on for a few decades. It was well used, and some of the pages were close to falling out. The pages on the front had faded slightly, which made it difficult to make out the hand written title. Opening it up, she could see the quickly scribbled words of what appeared to be research, and took a second to take it all in.

"It looks like it's a mixture of at least twelve different languages, each with two or three local dialects… Someone really didn't want this to be decoded."

Gajeel looked over her shoulder to see nothing but scribbles. And he thought his hand writing was bad. Mira looked worried, she had already told the man that Levy was the best in the business and if she couldn't do it then no one could.

"Do you think you could do it, Levy?"

Levy looked up at the barmaid and grinned.

"Of course I can, Mira, this is me you're talking to!"

Gajeel knew immediately that he had lost Levy to the book, as she sat barely touching her breakfast. Instead, he simply nudged her occasionally, forcing her to look up and take a few bites before returning to her work. Her right hand scribbled furiously, and Gajeel noticed her noting page and line numbers next to everything she translated into Fiorian. He knew that it was in his language, but still didn't understand what was going on with it. The next time he nudged her, he decided to ask some more questions as to what was going on.

"How do you even understand what it's saying?"

Levy looked up at him, hand stilling for the first time since she started on the book. She bit her lower lip, and Gajeel instantly knew she was trying to figure out how to explain it to someone as stupid as him. Gajeel may know a lot about tactics in a fight, and the best way to take people down, but he would be the first to admit that he was definitely not the best at anything to do with books, that was his Shrimps area of expertise. After mulling it over for a few minutes, Levy opened her mouth to try and explain her situation.

"I am translating the stuff from Boscan, that I know without having to read a book. It is pretty simple, but it's only a word or a phrase every so often so I need to write down where it is for when I compile it. The rest of the languages are rarer so I will need some reference books to use them. Having such a common language scattered around occasionally but no Fiorian leads me to believe that this person was from Bosco…"

Gajeel nodded, looking over the words on the paper and noticing a few scant words of Boscan. He wasn't anywhere near fluent, but a few of the guild members were Boscan, and he had done a few jobs there over the years. He skimmed over the words she had written down in her near immaculate writing, but still it was almost incomprehensible.

"Why does it still not make any kind of sense?"

Levy smiled, turning her head back down to the work in front of her.

"It's quite common, actually. The words are translated through a few different languages which means if you translate it directly it doesn't make a lot of sense. Each translation masks the original meaning slightly, until there is enough degrees of separation for it to make very little sense even if it is all in the same language. You need to try and figure out the sequence of languages they used…"

Gajeel looked over to the paper, and knew that there was a lot more work than he ever expected, and she immediately came ten times more incredible in his eyes. He finished up his breakfast, making sure to nudge her occasionally until she finished hers too, and then just sat and watched her work.

It must have been around Midday when Natsu broke into the guild like a whirlwind, running immediately up to the bar and ordering a drink. As soon as he was there, he looked around before making a beeline towards Gajeel and Levy without even bothering to wait for his drink, and sat himself across from them.

He looked between the two, sniffing occasionally as if trying to detect some slight trace in the air. Leaning forward, a look of pure concentration on his face and inhaling further.

"What the fuck do you want, Salamander?" Gajeel growled, knowing exactly what he was doing. It looked like his sense of smell wasn't as sensitive as Gajeel's, but it was definitely getting there. Which was worrying. Levy looked up towards Natsu, and he leaned over closer towards her, zeroing in on her scent alone.

"There's something different about you, Levy…"

Levy started to blush, but luckily she was saved by a blonde blur knocking the Fire Dragon Slayer out of the way. Lucy sat up opposite Levy, flushed slightly as the short burst of exercise tired her out. Levy smiled, knowing that her friend had just sprinted across the guild hall just to save her.

"So, Natsu, do you want to go out on a job?"

The pink haired man immediately changed his attention, and ran immediately over to the board. Levy knew that he was always down on money, along with Lucy, and along with his penchant for adventure he never turned down the opportunity to do a job. The blonde stayed sat across from Levy, and threw her an apologetic smile.

"Thank you so much, Lu-chan. But I need to tell you that we are having a meeting with all the girls this afternoon and if you go on a job then you will miss it…"

Lucy smiled back, before jumping up to go and join her partner. She threw her bag more securely on her shoulder as she shouted back to the blue haired girl.

"Don't worry, we'll catch up later! Have fun for me!"

Gajeel watched as the other dragon slayer grabbed a flyer from the request board, and almost dragged the blonde out after him.

"She has the biggest crush on him, doesn't she?"

Levy looked over at him in surprise, that was supposed to be classified knowledge. How on Earthland did Gajeel of all people know about it? He looked at her confusion before chuckling and placing an arm around her shoulder.

"Please, it's so obvious. Even if they aren't actually fucking they are sleeping together, and there is no way that she would allow that if she didn't have feelings for him."

Levy nodded, before turning back down to her work. She managed to get a couple more pages translated before she was joined by two white-haired beauties. They both smiled at the couple, and Gajeel couldn't help but feel that they were the exact same amount of predatory.

"Come on, Levy, remember we have that lunch planned?" the younger said, standing and holding her hand out to Levy.

"Our shift has just finished, and I have a break before my night shift starts tonight so we're heading off now. The others are going to meet us there." Mira said, closing Levy's book as a hint that she wanted to go as soon as possible. Levy sighed, tidying away all of her notes and placing them back in her bag.

"You can carry on with that after lunch, and plus you have tomorrow too. I know that you can take a break."

Levy stood up, waving a quick goodbye to Gajeel as she went. He sighed, knowing that as soon as the girls left the hall he was going to be descended on. He had already seen various faces around the guild looking at him the way that vultures looked at a wounded animal. His peace was not going to last for long.

The first to arrive was Bickslow, he almost teleported over he moved so goddamn fast. Following closely behind was Freed, sitting next to Bickslow and directly opposite Gajeel. They both gave him knowing smiles, as if they already knew what he was going to say. It wasn't long before Elfman finally made his way over, setting up camp on the end of the table between Gajeel and Freed. He was definitely the gossip king of the guild; he took far too much after both of his sisters. Gajeel sighed, slamming his forehead down on the table and hoping that everyone immediately around him would realise that he was really not interested in the little chat they wanted to have with him. He waited a couple of seconds, but he could still hear all of their heartbeats and their steady breathing. They weren't going to leave, apparently.

"Well?" He heard Bickslow say, and looked up to see his eyes gleaming through his mask. Gajeel committed the new information to heart. Apparently his figure eyes came out to play whenever he got too excited, as well as other emotions. It was definitely good to know. He sighed as he realised that he was not going to get out of it as easily as he had hoped.

"What the fuck do you want with me, guys?"

Freed grinned, and he knew that Mira had been giving him tips on how to do the best smile to get the most out of whichever victim it was turned upon. Elfman simply sat there, knowing that it would be far more affective just to listen to whatever was said and committed to memory to piece together with other pieces of information and find out what was really going on.

"You know what the fuck I want to know about last night, Gajeel. We all know that you're not that stupid."

Gajeel glared at the Rune mage, showing him how much out of line his comment was but the green haired man didn't flinch. He could smell the drink on his breath and knew that he had been consuming alcohol all morning, and even right now he was nursing one of the Perfect Singapore Slings that Bickslow had introduced him to the day before. It was amazing how the addition of a few units of alcohol gave him courage, any other time the man would be terrified of him. Sure he was powerful in his own way, but he also knew that in a one on one fight without the ability to set up traps beforehand he would have no chance against the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Alright, I shagged Levy last night. Are you happy?"

All the men erupted into cheers, clapping so loud that everyone in the guild turned around to look at them. After seeing the pain they would come to if they interrupted the men crouched around the table, and generally just used to random outbursts, they turned back around to whatever they were doing.

"Sweet!" Bickslow yelled, slamming his tankard down on the table and spilling some of it. "I bet she is feisty as all hell, all the short girls are. Lisanna sure is."

Elfman nearly choked on his drink, coughing loudly. He put his head in his hands, trying desperately to remove the image that had just popped into his head. There were very few things that he didn't know about his little sister, and most of them he wanted to keep that way.

"Yeah, nope. Did not want to learn that."

But no one was paying attention to his complaints, as a familiar face slid into the chair opposite him, obviously much more drunk than when Gajeel had seen him earlier in the day. Bacchus grabbed one of Bickslow's dolls, before throwing it towards the bar. It spun around in the air, obviously dizzy, before Bickslow managed to wrestle for control and send it on its mission for alcohol from Kinana at the bar.

"Seriously, I don't know what it is about your guild, but I reckon all your girls are freaky as all hell. Cana definitely likes it down and dirty, and now I find out that Lisanna does too. How about the big sister, Freed?"

The man in question grinned, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair as if remembering a good memory, before speaking in a dreamy voice.

"Oh yes, let's just say that Satan Soul is a delight when you get to know her."

Elfman stood up, slamming his hands down on the table. The wood creaked beneath his massive weight, and Gajeel was genuinely surprised that it didn't snap in two.

"Right, fuck you guys. I do not want to know about my sisters habits in bed. There is not enough alcohol in the world to get those fucking images out of my head."

He walked off, muttering to himself as he did. Even Gajeel couldn't help but laugh at the man's misfortune, and Bickslow nearly fell out of his chair.

"Thank Fuck for that, I did not want to know about Evergreen's habits in the sack."

Gajeel grinned, recognising his opportunity when he saw it. Grabbing his drink in his hand, ready to sip for maximum effect, he spoke up.

"Really, I always imagined you'd fucked her already."

Bickslow stopped laughing, and nearly gagged. He was close to Evergreen, but not like that. Gajeel was about to take the customary sip to add to the comedic effect, but he was interrupted.

The table shook again as another body almost landed on it, but instead everyone could see the man had actually jumped from the second floor and was now sat on Elfman's vacant chair, elbow leaning on the table as if he had been there since the start of the conversation.

"Oh, if you wanted to know that, Bickslow, you always could have asked me."

Laxus grinned as it was Bickslow's turn to choke. Freed just looked smug, obviously it was something that he already knew about, but had been kept a secret from Bickslow for whatever reason. Probably his big mouth. He spluttered for a few seconds, and Laxus committed the one time that Bickslow was actually lost for words to memory. After he finally regained his composure he stared at the leader of the Raijinshū, almost too afraid to ask the question.

"Are you saying you actually slept with Evergreen? As in… mousy hair, cracking tits and a glare that can literally kill, Evergreen?"

Laxus just nodded, grinning to himself. He rested his head on his hand and looked genuinely bored at the conversation as if he hadn't just crashed it on purpose.

"Cheeky bitch got me absolutely hammered and tricked me into it. She wasn't too bad in all seriousness, but I didn't want to jeopardise our team's relationships. You understand, of course."

Bickslow's head was still spinning with the revelations that were coming out in the conversation. Sure, he had come over here to get information but this was just too much for him. His totems span around him in circles lazily, just as confused as he was and Laxus just laughed heartily at the state he was in.

Bacchus grinned at the Dragon Slayer, knowing something that was going to blow the poor Seith mages mind even further.

"I have heard of your, talents, Laxus. I have to thank you for teaching Cana how to suck cock. So. Damn. Well."

Freed coughed, spraying his incredibly feminine drink all over the table. Bickslow managed to let out a laugh, apparently not even Freed with all of his creepy stalking knew about that one. Laxus smiled, knowing just how talented that girl was. They had drifted apart to stay friends, but it didn't mean that they didn't bump into each other occasionally and relive their amazing nights together.

"Fucking hell, Laxus, just how many of the guild have you fucked?"

Laxus laughed at Bickslow's question, and patted Gajeel on the back. The other Dragon Slayer was grinning, at least he was in on it too.

"Ask our friend Gajeel here. I am sure he could tell you."

It was true, Laxus' smell was everywhere in the guild and scattered on many of the guild members, even one of Lucy's spirits. The thing with Dragon Slayers was that as soon as you slept with one of them their smell was on you for the rest of your life, a throwback from the very territorial dragons marking their mates. Dragons mated for life, but humans didn't and it created an odd mix of always knowing who your fellow Dragon Slayers were getting into at all times. His grin widened, and he nodded to everyone in the group. They all looked at him expectantly and he knew that he was expected to tell.

Throwing his hands up, he waved them in front of his face in denial.

"Oh no, no way. I'm not so stupid that I would leave myself open to a mob of angry women for spreading their secrets around."

Gajeel had seen the women in this guild. And he really did not want to die so young.


	18. Chapter 18

Levy was trapped between the soft curves of Juvia on her right, and the solid muscle of Erza on her left. The sofa was slightly too small for the three of them, but Erza hadn't seemed to care when she sat down next to her, wriggling her body in order to make enough space for her to fit in at the end of the sofa. She had been returning from her job when she bumped into the girls heading to the Strauss residence, and demanded that she was going to join seeing as she missed the last all-female meeting of Fairy Tail. Mira had, of course, agreed for her to come along and they had subsequently spent the rest of the journey and the majority of the time whilst Mira and Lisanna set up the food for the meeting discussing the job that Erza had just come back from. Levy was worried, staring at her hands in pure fear of what Erza was going to do to Gajeel if she found out just what he was doing to her. But for the moment she sounded fairly happy, which may or may not have been due to the large amounts of strawberry cakes that were sitting on the table in front of her.

They had grabbed Juvia on the way out of the guild hall, and she had been almost falling apart with excitement as she wanted to find out what had happened the night before, but Lisanna had stopped Levy from giving any information until they were all together and prepared properly. The poor woman was now almost shivering in excitement, and Levy could nearly feel her heart beat in excitement next to her. By the time they had got to the Strauss residence, Cana was already waiting there as if she knew that it would be the perfect meeting place. She had stumbled into the front room, collapsed onto the single chair found in there and pulled yet another hip flask out of her bag and started drinking again. Levy still couldn't believe how drunk she had managed to get in the last few hours since she had left the room that morning, but between her and Bacchus she assumed anything was possible when it came to alcohol.

Mira and Lisanna had taken up the last seats in the room, opposite Cana on the two seater sofa that marked the division between the kitchen and the front room of their house. Mira had put out a spread worthy of national awards, but whenever anyone complimented it she simply blushed and said that it was nothing. Levy had not long finished breakfast, but even that didn't mean that she could resist the delicious food that lay in front of her. She was eating through a particularly large sausage roll when Erza started the conversation off.

Erza leaned forward, grabbing herself another cake before settling down politely back into her chair and crossing her legs. Her shoulder squeezed into Levy's, causing her shuffle out of the way so she was almost on Juvia's lap.

"So." Erza said around a mouthful of cake. "What is so important that you had to call two meetings in two days?"

The whole room turned to look at Levy, and as soon as Erza saw the tide flowing she turned too. Five pairs of eyes trained in on her, and Levy started to shrink back into the cushions of the sofa, wishing that they would just envelope her so no one could question her any further. When she finally spoke, her voice came out as a squeak.

"Erza, you have to promise not to kill him."

A dark aura formed around the Requip mage, almost bringing down the atmosphere of the room with it. Levy squirmed closer to Juvia, but the rain woman simply softened as she prepared to turn into water completely and refused to offer the other bluenette any protection from the storm that was forming next to her. When Erza finally spoke, her voice was about an octave lower than normal and full of threat.

"Did you agree to it?"

Levy nodded, too afraid to open her mouth and knowing that she wouldn't be able to form any words if she did. She was staring into the older woman's eyes, and trying desperately to learn telepathy magic in record time so she could tell what she is thinking.

"Had you consumed any alcohol?"

Another shake of the head. Levy thought that she could see the aura around her lightening slightly, but also knew that neither her nor Gajeel were out of the water just yet.

"Did you remember to use the potion every day without fail?"

Levy nodded, knowing that the small vial of liquid had been a part of her daily routine for so long there was no way she would ever forget to drink the foul-tasting drink.

The aura around Erza lightened completely and disappeared, and she smiled again as the room breathed a silent collective sigh of relief.

"Well then, I am happy for you Levy. You two have my blessing."

Almost before the last word left Erza's mouth, Cana had spoken up, leaning so far forward in her chair Levy was amazed that the combined effects of her inebriation and gravity hadn't forced her to topple over and end up on the floor in a heap. Her voice was low, almost a whisper as if she was trying to keep it a secret from everyone else in the room and failing miserably.

"So, what's he like, Levy? Is his cock pierced?"

Levy had known that that question was going to be one of the first asked of her, but somehow it still made her choke a little. She looked around for someone to save her, but everyone seemed to be looking at her with the same degree of fascination as Cana.

"Erm, yeah it is. Four down each side and one through the head."

The girls all squealed, and Cana clapped in delight. It was something that she had wanted to know ever since she had met Gajeel, but he had never let it slip. She knew that some of the guys would know, but they all kept quiet in fear of actually being murdered.

"How long is it?" Lisanna asked, eyes wide in the knowledge that she was about to get some of the best gossip. Although she had never really wanted to date any of them, not since she came back from Edolas anyway, she had always wondered if the Dragons had something Dragon-sized hidden down there.

Levy held out her hands in what she thought was roughly the correct spacing, and the girls around her nodded appreciatively. Apparently Lisanna's thinking had been correct.

"How does it feel? The piercings, I mean." Mira asked, leaning over her sister to get closer to the gossip. Lisanna didn't mind, she was leaning on the arm of the sofa and perfectly accustomed to her sister's weight on her body.

"Erm, I wouldn't actually know the difference. But the piercings are pretty cold to start off with and that gave me quite a shock."

Another round of squeals, and that time Erza nodded as if she knew the feeling. No one questioned her, Erza was very private about her own sex life even if she felt perfectly happy gossiping about everyone else's.

"Juvia knows that it can be quite fun when it suddenly gets cold..."

The voice was almost too quiet to hear, but Juvia would never have been that lucky. Everyone squealed, and the topic of conversation moved over to her ever evolving relationship with Gray. It was odd, once they actually became a couple Juvia had calmed down significantly and now only rarely mentioned him in conversation or beat another woman to the ground for looking at him. Levy listened to the conversation, glad to have a break in her questioning even though she knew that she had no chance of it lasting long before the attention was back onto her. She grabbed a sandwich from the table and chewed at it absentmindedly. She never would have thought that tuna and grape would make such a good combination, but here it was. Lisanna truly was a miracle worker.

The girls soon grew bored of Juvia, despite the occasional use of ice and the inordinate amount of underwater sex, their personal life turned out to be pretty vanilla. It was what would have been expected of a new relationship starting out, and Levy secretly wished that her and Gajeel would have been able to have nice, normal vanilla sex even if it was just the once.

"I bet Gajeel is into some kinky shit, eh Levy? Does his Dragon come out and like to play rough?"

Cana was so close behind Levy's ear that she jumped. The Card Mage had at some point during Juvia's questioning moved over to stand behind the three-man sofa and lean on the back of it allowing her mouth to rest almost uncomfortable close to Levy's ear. How on Earth did someone so drunk manage to sneak up on people that easily? Her face turned red at the thought of Cana knowing about Gajeel's Dragon, before remembering the amount of nights she used to end up in Laxus' bed and wondered whether the Lightning Dragon Slayer had the same issue that Gajeel did. Everyone looked over at her, expecting an explanation as to what Cana was talking about or if she was just mumbling like a drunk. Levy sighed, trying to figure out in her head how to explain it as Cana started to knot her fingers through her blue hair absentmindedly.

"So, apparently all of the Dragon Slayers have a second soul, a dragon inside of them. When they get heightened emotions the dragon comes out, and takes over. It means that whenever we fuck the Dragon takes over, and like Cana says the dragon likes it rough."

Erza looked a little concerned for a moment, but to Levy's surprise everyone else just took it in their stride. Cana was giggling, and mentioning occasionally that Levy must love it rough. She tugged slightly on her hair, making Levy yelp in surprise and Cana giggle even more. Swatting the Card mage away, Levy carried on with her conversation.

"It's kind of nice, really, and I can't complain. Gajeel kept control for long enough not to hurt me at the start, and it really was fun to be completely under his control" Cana nearly fell over from laughter, and kept saying that she had always knew that Levy would like it rough in the bedroom, and it was always the small ones that you needed to look out for. Mira and Lisanna also chuckled into their palms, but Levy simply ignored it and carried on.

"The only problem is I just think it would be nice to actually have sex with Gajeel, instead of with the dragon you know?"

The other girls around the table nodded in agreement, Lisanna sat contemplating over something before jumping up onto her feet and running up the stairs. The remaining females simply looked at each other in confusion, even Mira couldn't explain what her little sister was doing.

Their conversation turned to ways that Levy could deal with the issue they were experiencing. Cana had made her way back over to the single chair and sank into it.

"I always used to just fuck Laxus when he was exhausted, or he had just come back from a job and the Dragon didn't have enough energy to fight back for him. Surprisingly enough, the guy absolutely loves to be dominated."

Mira nodded, it was common knowledge within at least the females of the guild that her and Laxus had had a fling when they were younger even if none of the males knew about it.

"Yeah, I found that too. At least when I used to do him if he didn't want the Dragon to come out I always needed to intimidate it with Satan Soul before it backed off."

Before anyone could comment any further, Lisanna ran back down the stairs and vaulted the back of the sofa to land in the place next to her sister holding something in her hands.

"The Dragon has got to be some form of magic, right? And these are magic-blocking cuffs."

Levy took them off the Takeover mage, they felt heavy in her hands, a large bulky chain attaching both of the metal cuffs and looked incredibly difficult to break out of even for Gajeel. She had used them before in jobs, but never in the way that Lisanna was suggesting.

"Erm, why does Lisanna-san have a pair of magic blocking handcuffs in her room?" Juvia said, squirming slightly in her seat. She still wasn't quite comfortable having these sort of conversations with others in the guild, but at least she was getting better. In addition to that, there was also the issue that she really didn't know much about the different uses of marital aids in the bedroom. Lisanna just giggled, taking Juvia's hand in order to explain something to her.

"Well, Bickslow has some issues controlling his Figure Eyes whenever we're fucking, and I just couldn't put up with him always wearing his mask in bed. So we got some of these."

She turned her attention to Levy, gesturing to the pair of cuffs with a sweep of her palm.

"You can get them without the chain in the middle but that's the only pair I have here. Give them a go and see if they help you out."

Mira held her head in her hands, shaking it slowly as she giggled out her thoughts.

"Seriously, Lisanna, I did not need to know that about you and Bickslow. I never want to know anything to do with my little sister's sex life!"

Lisanna simply shrugged, picking up a pastry from the table in front of her and chewing on it slowly. She never really had been one to get embarrassed, especially not around her sister. Now Mira had managed to get a confession out of her about her relationship with the Seith mage, it was her own fault that Lisanna talked about it so openly.

Cana sat back in the chair, taking another swill out of the hip flask she had brought with her. Levy was half tempted to take it off her, surely she was drunk enough already, but she knew better than that after all the years of knowing Cana. The Card Mage looked contemplative, before speaking up with just a slight slur to the edge of her words.

"You know, I really miss sex with magic. Neither mine nor Bacchus' magic is really very handy in the bedroom, and it kinda sucks. Laxus was always so… electrifying."

She giggled at her own joke, nearly dropping the flask onto the floor. Mirajane simply nodded, obviously knowing what Cana was talking about and finally in a territory where she was comfortable to talk.

"I know what you mean, and some of the Dark Écriture's that Freed can use are simply amazing. Pleasure, Lust, Desire. That man can turn my legs to jelly without even touching me..." Her eyes closed in the memory of the feelings that she had experienced every night for a while now, and she was secretly longing for the time to speed up until that evening when she would see him again.

"Of course, it works the other way around. He absolutely loves Satan Soul as well, and some of the other Take-Overs I can perform please him too. The roleplaying is simply incredible..."

Lisanna groaned, learning more about her sister than she ever wanted to and feeling more than a little retribution for what she had put Mira through earlier. Erza listened with great fervour, before adding her own experiences to the mix.

"Oh, I know what you mean. I have more than a few special outfits I can requip into, but nothing like the power you hold. Now, most of Jellal's magic doesn't hold a lot of potential, however his thought projections feel very real if you know what I am saying."

The brunette blinked, and Levy gasped at the implications of what she had said. Mira giggled, amazed that Jellal had even allowed Erza to try it. The thought of her explaining it to him and trying to get him to agree was just too amusing in her head.

"I'm with Cana." Lisanna moaned, putting her feet up onto the coffee table. It was something that drove Elfman mad, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

"Bickslow absolutely loves my take-over powers, but his magic is pretty much useless. Unless he used his figure eyes to force someone into having a threesome, or possessed a sex toy it isn't much use. I guess I'm not missing out much always cuffing him and taking away his powers."

Juvia balked at the words coming out of Lisanna's mouth, she had always been raised to be a lady and this was not how ladies spoke to each other. Before coming to Fairy Tail she had always assumed friends would sit around drinking tea and talking about the weather, but this was an entirely different scenario to the one that played out in her head. The way she tried to squirm away from the conversation obviously got Cana interested, as the card mage immediately turned on her and probed for more information.

"What about you, Juvia? Any magic use in the bedroom you want to share with us?"

The Rain Woman shifted in her seat, before opening her mouth to answer.

"Apart from Gray using his ice magic to tease me, and Juvia giving him the ability to breath under water then we don't really. Juvia doesn't think that there is much else that we could do."

"I don't know..." Erza interjected, tapping her chin absentmindedly as she spoke. "I bet that Ice Make Magic could come in handy for certain things..."

Juvia blushed all over, surprised at what Erza was saying. Before she might have been annoyed at her for thinking of Gray in that way, but right now her embarrassment was taking over all other feelings.

"What about you, Levy?" Mira asked, once again turning everyone's attention onto the Solid Script Mage. "Have you ever thought of anything your magic could do in the bedroom?"

Levy started to shake her head, but everyone around her exploded with ideas.

"You can make basic rune traps, can't you?" Erza said, eyes glassing over with the possibilities "something tells me that you would be able to use those to your advantage pretty well. You can always ask Freed for more ideas, too."

"And Solid Script Stick would be able to hold him down on the bed, making you fully in charge of the situation, not able to move even an inch of his body..." Lisanna added, still obviously wracking her brains for any other ideas she could give to Levy.

"Oh, and Solid Script Rope!" Cana yelled, jumping to her feet and almost knocking the chair backwards. Mira sprinted over, settling Cana down through the sheer fear for her furniture. She could tell that Cana was starting to get to the point of no return, and wondered what on Earthland Bacchus had given her to get her so drunk so quickly. Steadying the girl on her feet, she knew exactly what she needed to do to get her sobered up a bit.

"I still have a couple of hours left before I need to start my next shift, does anyone fancy going to the hot springs and continuing our conversation there?"

The other girls nodded, and Erza stretched her arms up to pop her joints before standing up and taking her position on the other side of Cana in case Mira needed her help.

"Yeah, I could do with a nice long soak after that mission. Let's go."

Cana whooped, before stumbling off in the direction of the door. Levy sighed, tagging along at the end of the group. It was an awful long way over to the springs, and she would be genuinely surprised if Cana made it there in one piece.

Levy sat in the guild hall, once again, having stopped by her apartment on the way back to the guild hall in order to pick up a few dictionaries of the languages she was guessing the book had been translated into. The time had passed ridiculously fast as she buried her head in her books, and Gajeel spent time talking to the male members of the Rajinshuu along with Cana and Bacchus. He had come to check on her many times during the evening, each time asking her if she wanted to take a break from her work and join in the conversation and each time she denied the opportunity. She was making good progress with the notebook, but she knew that she was still going to be hard pushed to get it finished by the end of the next day. She allowed Gajeel to force her to take a break for food, but she just spent the time eating reading over the text that she had previously translated to make sure that it made the most sense possible.

It was very technical writing, obviously some sort of scientific research. The book started very well laid out, with neat handwriting and clearly structured reports but quickly descended into scrawled writing making its way across the page like a spider's web. Whoever wrote it appeared to be researching into how magic worked, and what dictated how people developed different forms of magic. It was quite fascinating to read into, and to start with Levy wanted to keep a copy to herself to read at a later date. The first part of the book concluded that people gained their main magic through genetics, but could learn further magics to a lesser degree. It then got slightly more confusing, with the researcher looking into different ways to acquire magic to the level of what you could gain through genetics. After a while, the language just got too technical for even Levy to comprehend, and she just had to hope that she was getting the words translated correctly.

She hadn't noticed that the rest of the guild had emptied apart from the table next to her, and Mira and Lisanna were busy clearing down the tables around the guild. It was only when she decided to get up and get a coffee that she realised just how much time had passed.

"Leave that work til tomorrow, Lev." Lisanna said as she passed over the double-strength latte that Levy had ordered. "Me and Mira are going to stop to have a drink with the others, you should join us. You're working yourself too hard."

Levy sighed, looking between the pile of books that she had left and the group of friends that were crowded around. Making her way over to the table surrounded by her friends, she placed her drink on the table as Gajeel pulled her onto his lap. His breath smelled slightly of beer, but she knew that he wasn't drunk at all.

"You coming over to join us then, Shrimp?"

Levy smiled as he pulled her forward to kiss her forehead, watching as Lisanna settled down between Gajeel and Bickslow, with Mira sitting opposite her between Freed and Cana. She was brought out of her moment of contemplation by Cana slamming down her drink, and shouting at the top of her voice.

"I HAVE NEVER TRUTH OR DARE TIME!"

Everyone cheered, but Levy simply tried to stand up, waving her hands in front of her face.

"Oh, no. Oh no no no. I have played that game before and it is not something that I want to ever do again."

She tried to escape, but Gajeel's arms were solid behind her and stopped her from being able to move at all. Turning in his arms, she saw a grin plastered on his face as Mira ran over to the bar to grab some spirits and shot glasses.

"Come on, Shrimp, it will be fun. Plus, you've got me to look after ya, right?"


	19. Chapter 19

Levy sighed, sitting back down on Gajeel's lap and relaxing down into his chest. Mira returned, passing everyone a shot glass before filling them with a clear liquid and going back to her chair between Freed and Cana.

"So!" Cana said, putting her previous drink down on the table. She stood up, demanding attention from everyone at the table. "For those of us who have not played before," She signalled at Bacchus and Freed, grinning that she was able to introduce more people to her game. "The rules are simple. One of us comes up with something they have never done, and if you have done it then you have to drink. If you have NOT done it, you take in turns to choose a Truth or a Dare, given to you by the original person."

Everyone around the table nodded, the rules were pretty simple after all. Cana's grin widened as she realised that her drunken explanation had actually worked out. She sat back down, turning around to Laxus at the head of the table and addressing him directly.

"So, as our honorary guest in this game, do you want to take the first shot?"

Laxus grinned, sitting back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other before surveying the people he had in front of him. He had played this game a few times, but it was a very rare occasion that he drank in a group and played drinking games with the others. He had been given the first shot, and just like in a fight he had to make it count.

"I have never..." he said, looking everyone around the table in the eye. "Given anyone a blowjob."

Levy sighed, picking up the shot that lay on the table. Watching Cana, she copied the movement and drank it down in one before coughing as it burnt down her throat. Mira and Lisanna laughed, drinking their alcohol down as Freed quietly drank his. Levy had known that he had had relationships with both men and women before, however other people around the table opened their eyes wide in realisation.

Laxus laughed, pointing out his three victims. He had known that Bickslow and Gajeel wouldn't drink, but he was still on the fence about Bacchus. "Bickslow, Gajeel, Bacchus, you three are mine. Bickslow, Truth or Dare?"

The Seith mage sighed, he knew just how bad Laxus could be. He also knew that the man was aware of the majority of his secrets, and had no shame in asking him about something just to make him squirm. There was only one way to go, and that was a dare.

"Dare." He declared, hoping that Laxus would be kind to him at least for the first round.

"You need to give Bacchus a lap dance."

Or maybe not.

Bickslow stood, making his way to the other end of the table and standing in front of his charge. The other man grinned, settling himself back on his chair and grinning far too much for a normal person.

"You had better keep your magic fucking hands to yourself, Bacchus, otherwise I swear to all that is holy I will use them to choke you."

Bacchus grinned, interlacing his fingers behind his head and shuffling his groin forward. Bickslow moaned in annoyance, leaning himself forward to get started when a shout came from the table.

"Mask off, Bickslow!" Lisanna shouted, taking a sip out of her wine glass as if she was about to watch a movie. "I wanna see your face as you do it."

Bickslow swore at his girlfriend as he removed his mask, setting it on the table and shaking his hair out.

He moved his way around Bacchus, trailing his fingers across his shoulders, and allowing them to twirl in the hair that had escaped from his bun many drinks ago. When he had returned to the man's front, he rested his hands on his upper thighs and brought his eyes level with his own.

Lowering himself onto Bacchus' legs, he wrapped his own legs around the back of the chair and rested his hands on his shoulders. Ignoring the whoops and cheers from the others in the room, he rolled his hips before untangling his legs. Leaning back as far as he could, he put his hands on the floor before bringing his hips up, flipping his entire body over his head and flipping over to land back on his feet, facing the man on the chair. Using Bacchus' legs for support he bent over before rising and brushing his chest up against the man below him. Standing up straight, he moved his hips in a figure of eight and ghosted his hands down his sides before turning around and sitting back in Bacchus' lap. Moving his arse up and down his chest, he finally stood up, walking his way back to his space at the table, swinging his hips all the way to cheers and applause from everyone assembled at the table.

"Dude, I don't go for guys, but my boner is really trying right now."

Bickslow simply flipped the bird at Bacchus, before downing the rest of his beer and sending one of his totems to get another one.

Laxus moved to his next target, eyes zeroing in on Gajeel. The other Dragon Slayer stared him down, as if daring him to try something.

"I choose truth."

Laxus thought for a second. He could either use this for something embarrassing, or for something that he genuinely wanted to know. He realised that there would be a lot of opportunity for embarrassment throughout the course of the night, and decided on something that he wanted to know.

"How many Piercings do you have?"

Everyone sighed at the tame question, and it took Gajeel a moment to figure out if the man was trying to catch him out. Doing some quick maths in his head, he finally came up with the answer.

"At the moment, around 60. But it changes."

Laxus nodded, it was something that he had been wondering since they had met, but now he knew for sure.

"How many has Levy seen?" Cana blurted out, giggling as she did. Gajeel simply snarled at her, before growling.

"Not your turn, Drunkard."

Cana pulled a mock sad face, taking a long draft out of her drink. Laxus coughed, bringing the attention back to him before shouting over to the end of the table to Bacchus.

"Truth or Dare, Bacchus?"

The man looked back rather lazily, seeming to take his time to contemplate his options. Finally he spoke up, his voice coming out as a drawl. Maybe he had had slightly too much to drink already.

"I'll take a Dare. Give me everything you've got."

Laxus laughed, knowing that he couldn't pull his lap dance card twice in one night. He could, however, see if he could embarrass him in other ways. After all, he wasn't used to Fairy Tail and therefore probably got embarrassed easier.

"I dare you to strip down to your underwear for the next two rounds."

Bacchus laughed, and had thrown his clothes off at a speed that could rival even Gray. He sat back down, in his boxers, and stared Laxus straight in the eye to prove that it meant nothing to him. Laxus swore internally, he was hoping for a much better reaction than that, but sadly it wasn't to be. He looked at the green-haired man next to him, and indicated that it was his turn.

Freed looked around, trying to work out just how evil he could be with his question. Seeing as it was still pretty early on in the game, he decided to do something that was pretty tame and shouldn't catch too many people out. He wasn't very inventive with coming up with either truth questions or dares anyway, so the more people he could get to drink the better.

"I have never had sex outside."

Levy tried not to feel pangs of jealousy when Gajeel drank, but it was pretty hard. She knew that there had been others before her, but she kind of wished that she was his first the same way that he was hers. She watched everyone but her and Lisanna take a drink and saw Freed's face fall in realisation that he had to cater for two different people. Looking over to Lisanna, he decided to ask her first and try and get his turn over as soon as possible.

"Truth or Dare, Lisanna?"

The youngest Strauss sibling thought to herself, after seeing the Dare that Bickslow had endured she wasn't particularly thrilled with having to take part in one of those herself, and plus she knew that Freed had a particularly evil streak that she definitely wanted to avoid. After much consideration, she realised that her best chance would be to go for a truth, and at least then she wouldn't have to actually do anything to anyone.

"I'll take a Truth please, Mr Justine."

She smiled as nicely as she could, hoping that if she acted as innocent as possible then Freed wouldn't ask her anything too bad. She watched him contemplate for a second, before he finally asked the question.

"What is your favourite sexual position?"

Mira groaned more than Lisanna did, knowing that she really did not want to know the answer to that question. There were just certain things that you didn't need to know about your siblings. Bickslow simply grinned, letting his tongue loll out and Mira knew that knowing Lisanna discovered this information with him made it somehow worse, if that was even possible.

Lisanna took a few seconds of consideration, before looking Freed right in the eyes, determined to make him blush at the answer more than she would.

"That would probably be Doggy Style, Freed. It hits places that simply cannot be hit any other way."

She succeeded in making him blush, and pretended not to see Mira slamming his head against the table opposite her. She could hear Bickslow chuckle, and turned around to face him directly.

"You know, Bickslow, I should really be asking you just how you learnt how to give such as good lap dance."

The Seith mage shut up immediately, and tried to ignore the laughs from everyone around him that knew that he had just had it handed to him by his girlfriend.

Freed recovered from having his head driven onto the table, probably slightly harder than Mira had intended. Rubbing his head in what he hoped was a subtle fashion, he turned to his next victim who was waiting patiently on Gajeel's lap and hoping that the rune mage had suffered from concussion and forgotten that she was also awaiting punishment.

"Ms. McGarden, Truth or Dare?"

Levy thought to herself, knowing that as the significant other of Mira he had probably been asked to try and find as much information regarding the others in the guild as possible.

"Dare."

Freed grinned, wondering just what he could do. There was something that was possible to torture not just Levy, but also the Dragon Slayer she was using as a chair.

"I dare you to lick every single one of Gajeel's piercings on his face."

Gajeel tensed all of his muscles, and clenched his hands tightly closed. He wasn't anywhere close to drunk, but he knew that he had consumed enough alcohol to make it that he currently wanted Levy more than anything. It was bad enough that she was currently wriggling in his lap, let alone that she was going to start licking all over his face. And knowing her, she would be sexual about it too.

His nightmare began when she turned around in his lap and straddled him, resting her feet on the floor either side of his legs. He dug his nails into his palms, knowing that he would have to hold back here, unless he wanted to ravish her in front of an audience.

She started with his left ear, licking all the way up the shell before dropping to the lobe and taking it into her mouth, tugging it lightly with her teeth. He tried to ignore the whoops coming from Cana, before realising that they might help him take his mind off what Levy was doing.

Her breasts rubbed against his chest as she moved over to his other ear and repeated the treatment, before she moved to his right eyebrow. Her tongue slalomed between his piercings, leaving a wet trail to remind him where she had gone. As she moved to the other eyebrow he fought against his growing cock, he could not lose control here. But Levy didn't seem to notice as she finished with his brows and moved onto his nose, licking each medal stud in succession with the tip of her tongue. He moved his hands up onto his thighs, grabbing a hold of his trousers to try to keep a hold of himself as she moved to his chin and sucked on the two piercings found there.

He wasn't even sure that Levy knew, but the touches experienced by the metal he had generated was exactly like the sensation he would have felt if she had done the same to his skin. He sucked in a gasp of air, now completely blind to the people around them, and Levy took the opportunity to kiss him fully on the lips, slipping her tongue through and to the piercing inside his mouth. Her tongue circled around his own, before she pulled away and smiled at him. The smile was almost his undoing, and he would have picked her up and ran at full speed back to his own house if he hadn't had been brought back to reality by everyone around the table clapping. Levy slid off his lap, before returning to perch on the edge of his knees, perfectly ladylike despite what she had just done to him.

Levy grinned, she could feel Gajeel's excitement growing beneath her as she kissed all over his face, and knew that she had driven him mad. Cana winked at her, and Freed just looked mildly impressed that she had actually done it, sitting back in his chair to show that his turn was over.

Mira grinned, looking around at those assembled on the table, and wondering what she could do to get the most excitement out of the game. There was no point going for people that she knew the most about, that would simply be boring, so she made her decision and stuck with it.

"I do not have any piercings."

She noticed everyone at the table turn around to look at her more closely, trying to see her ears underneath her hair. She knew exactly what they were looking for, so immediately pulled her hair back to show people that there were no holes anywhere to be seen. She had tried piercing them before, but whenever she used her Satan Soul they would simply reseal themselves and in the end she just gave up.

She watches as everyone but Bickslow, Freed and Laxus took a shot and knew almost immediately what she was going to do, she just needed her luck to hold out as long as possible.

"Come on then, boys, truth or dare?"

Bickslow said truth, as Laxus shouted and Freed mumbled Dare. Perfect. Turning to Bickslow, she tried desperately to think of something that wouldn't implicate her sister at all. There were things that she needed to know, sure, but then she would have to imagine her sister in certain situations she never wanted to have to imagine her in. So she went for something a little less risky.

"What is the most childish thing that you still do?"

Most people looked disappointed at the tame question, while Bickslow made a big show of thinking about something.

"Well, Mira, that would probably be… Lisanna."

Mira's hand hit her face as Lisanna's hit Bickslow's. Mira really thought that there was no way that question would come back to bite her in the ass, but it really had done. Bickslow was almost rolling on the floor in hysterics while Lisanna was torn between trying not to laugh and being mad at the man next to her. Shaking her head, she simply turned to the two men next to her.

"And you two boys… I dare you to make out with each other."

Everyone gasped, followed by hollering from Bacchus and Cana simultaneously. Freed jumped out of his seat, shaking his head at his girlfriend.

"No, Mira, I am not doing that."

Laxus simply grinned, grabbing the green haired man by the waist and holding him still.

"What's the matter, Freed? Afraid that you'll fall for me again?"

Freed blushed, hiding his head in Laxus' chest. Damn Mira knew that he had had the biggest crush on Laxus for the longest of times, but had never had the courage to act on it. Only a girlfriend as equally crazy and loving as her would give him the opportunity to actually kiss the man he had a childhood crush on.

Laxus was grinning on the inside. Although he usually didn't go for men, he had drunk a ridiculous amount that evening and right now he was up for anything. Plus, he wasn't blind. He had known Freed's feelings for him, but didn't want to break his heart by telling him that he just didn't swing that way. Plus, what harm would one little kiss do anyway.

Grabbing Freed's face in his hands, he crushed their mouths together. Ignoring the reactions of those around him, he moved his right hand down to Freed's lower back and pulled him closer, pulling their bodies together as he did. Freed tasted of strawberries and lime, and Laxus' sensitive hearing managed to pick up the noise of his heart beat speeding up. Licking his tongue across the rune mages lower lip, he was granted entrance to deepen the kiss. Tangling his free hand in the man's long hair, he halted for a second, allowing him to live his dream for a little while longer, before breaking apart.

Freed's head was still spinning, even though he truly loved Mira, Laxus' kiss was all he had ever wanted and more. He was deaf to the cheers around him as he sat down and finished the rest of his drink, before heading off to the bar to get something stronger. He was going to need it after that.

Cana jumped up, swaying a little on her feet from the ridiculous amount of alcohol that she had consumed that day. She tried to forget what was going on with the two men at the other end of the table, she was unsure about Mira but she knew that she did not need those images in her head. She looked around the table, slowly pointing out each person around the table, knowing exactly what she was going to say. She closed her eyes for a second to try and formulate her words correctly.

"I have never… Had a threesome."

Bacchus raised his eyebrows in surprise, he now knew that it was something he could approach with her and maybe get lucky that way. He drank down the liquor that Mira had provided him, and watched as Freed, Laxus and Bickslow did the same.

Gajeel looked over at them, grinning almost insanely.

"So, is this a Raijinshū threesome or?"

Everyone except the Raijinshū chuckled to themselves, and Laxus simply shot a glance over to Gajeel. If looks could kill, then Gajeel would have been dead on the spot.

"You're pretty fucking cocky for who is essentially a massive lightning rod."

Gajeel grinned, enjoying the occasional banter he had with Laxus. It didn't happen very often, sure, but when it did then he was a worthy opponent. He looked over at the blonde man, scoffing as he did.

"You do know I've learned to ground myself, right? You are pretty much useless against me."

Laxus was about to offer his rebuttal, however Cana slammed her hands on the table, making it shake with only the strength that a drunkard could have. She shouted to the room, much louder than probably even she expected.

"Can you two stop measuring your dicks for two FUCKING seconds?"

Everyone looked over to her, knowing that she was going to have a hangover in the morning, and Cana with a hangover was not a pretty sight. It only very rarely happened, but when it did it was the end of the world. Mira felt more than slightly sorry for Bacchus, unsure whether he had ever had to put up with it before. Before she could mention anything, Cana just continued her sentence.

"Now, are any of you fucking pussy's gonna choose truth, or can I just dare all of you in one?"

Faced with such an ultimatum, no one was going to pick Truth after that. Everyone looked at each other, wondering if anyone would chicken out but no one would. Cana grinned, standing up straight and placing her left hand on her hip. She pointed at everyone in the room, and raised her voice once again.

"I dare every single one of you to take off your clothes! Everyone down to underwear!"

There was a collective groan, as the two Strauss siblings both started to remove their tops. Every single man at the table were forced to look, despite knowing that their girlfriends were right there. When the Strauss Sisters removed their clothes, you did not look away.

Gajeel's gaze broke first as Levy stood off his lap, and pulled her tank top up over her head. Underneath was a lacy black bra, and Gajeel was suddenly immensely grateful that she hadn't decided to go braless that morning. He couldn't pull his eyes away as she shimmied out of her shorts, and he couldn't help but laugh at what he saw.

"Shrimp, does your butt say 'Short and Sweet'?"

Levy simply turned around to glare at him as the whole table burst out into hysterics. She was torn between being glad that she had decided to wear boy shorts, and annoyed that she had chosen ones with such an annoying slogan. Her annoyance was soon cut short when she saw Gajeel remove his shirt, and she was rendered just as speechless as the first time she had seen him.

"Have you gained more piercings since the last time you stripped in front of me, you metal freak?"

Gajeel grinned over at Laxus, remembering the new piercings he had generated since he had learned Levy had an appreciation for them. Apart from the ones on his front, he had gained four more down each side of his spine, along with some further up his arms.

"Well, Sparky, I have many that you haven't seen. Play your cards right tonight and you might get to see them."

He winked over at the man as he shrugged off his trousers, making sure to look over his shoulder as Laxus tried desperately to come up with a comeback, but before he could Gajeel had already sat back down, with Levy retaking her place on his lap.

Cana was clapping with glee, now it was only the Raijinshū and her that were fully clothed. She wondered for a second whether she could add a stripping element to the game… But that was probably for the next game they played. She sat back down, before turning to Bacchus and indicating that it was time for him to take his turn.

Bacchus drained the last of the liquid out of his own flask, and made his way over to the bar to fill it back up again. He didn't trust Bickslow's little dolls anymore after they had dropped a bottle earlier in the evening, and Gajeel had burst out laughing explaining that the more drunk Bickslow, got, the more drunk his dolls got as well.

Bending down to find the bottles that he wanted, he finally made his way back over to the chair and started to refill his flask.

"I have never fucked a Dragon Slayer."

Freed, Mira, Cana and Levy all immediately took shots, Levy still coughing at the bitter liquid in her throat. Gajeel raised his hand like a child, before looking directly at Bacchus.

"Does it count if I've jacked off? Cause, technically I count that as fucking myself."

Bacchus thought for a second, tapping his finger against his chin as he tried to decide. He could get Gajeel and Laxus to do something stupid, however in the same vein he could work on getting them drunk. He could see Laxus getting a little tipsy, and he wanted to prove that he could outdrink even a Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah, that counts. Take a drink."

The two Dragon Slayers grinned, both drinking their shots simultaneously. Bacchus looked at Lisanna and Bickslow, and his smile grew.

"In the words of a smoking' hot babe, are you gonna be pussies or choose dare?"

Lisanna groaned, before realising that nothing could go worse than it was already. She was already down to her underwear, there was very little that Bacchus could actually do to make it worse.

"We both go Dare." She said, making the decision for Bickslow too. Not that she was controlling him or anything, she just knew that given an option like that then there was no way he would ever choose truth.

"I dare you to swap clothes."

Lisanna grinned. That wasn't that bad. Bickslow, however, had another reaction.

"There is no way I am gonna fit in her clothes! Look at her body compared to mine!"

Despite his protests, he was offered no sympathy and Bacchus refused to withdraw his request. So, with annoyance, he started to remove his clothes as Lisanna stood there and laughed.

After a few minutes, he was also down to his underwear and was left staring at the hot pants and tank top that were now his own. Starting with the top, at least that was somewhat roomier, he pulled it over his head. It sagged in all the wrong places, and was far too short, ending just above his navel. Trying to ignore the laughs coming from all around him, he grabbed the shorts and wrenched them onto his legs. Despite the obvious lack of room in the crotch department, they weren't half bad. Lisanna's hips were much wider than his own, meaning that he could do up the button easily. He ignored the fact that his boxers fell lower than the line of the shorts, he wasn't going to be winning any fashion shows anyway.

His attention turned to helping Lisanna into his clothes. They were just as complicated as they looked, and although she had mastered taking them off it was a complete other story when it came to putting them on yourself. He spent a time pulling each of the straps, and even managing to adjust it around the waist to actually give her somewhat of a feminine figure. He would never admit it, but he was actually relatively good at making clothes, and somewhere in his drunken mind he made the decision to make Lisanna her own matching outfit one day. After all, she managed to look fucking hot even though the top was too baggy and the trousers too long.

Lisanna felt ridiculously over dressed, and hot. How did Bickslow not boil to death in these things? After what seemed like hours of Bickslow fawning over her, she was finally finished and sat back on the table. She thought that her torture was over with, but she was about to be reminded that her outfit wasn't quite there yet.

"And the mask, Lisanna. Not that I wanna cover up your pretty face, of course." Bacchus leered, and if Lisanna didn't know better she would have sworn she could hear a slight slur to his words.

She picked up the mask off the table, and held it over her eyes, waiting for Bickslow to tighten the straps for her. Fucking hell, he had a big head, and even when tightened as far as it could go, it still wobbled dangerously every time she moved her head. Not only that, but it was heavy, and she felt like it was driving her neck farther into her shoulders by the second. As the final touch, Bickslow helped her pull the hood over her head before sitting down next to her and signalling the dare complete.

"Gajeel, Levy, you two get to fight over who's next."


	20. Chapter 20

Levy threw her hand in the air, not allowing Gajeel even a chance to argue his case. Gajeel just allowed her to take the go, not really too bothered seeing that he hadn't quite thought of what he was going to ask yet. Added to that, he was still concentrating on stopping himself from grabbing the half-naked woman who was still squirming on his lap and taking her home with him immediately.

"I have never had sex with a woman."

Gajeel grabbed his shot off the table, and downed it quickly. He was followed by everyone on the table bar Mira and Lisanna, who looked at each other and grinned. It was only Levy, she couldn't come up with the worst of punishments, right? Levy was sweet and innocent, and would never do anything to truly embarrass them. Mira looked over to the bluenette, and the innocent look on her face told her that she had nothing to be worried about.

"Mira and Lisanna, truth or dare?"

They both answered Dare, knowing that with Levy it would be something tame like 'lick the table' or 'do a handstand'. She had always been a lot more innocent than everyone else in the guild.

"Lisanna, you have to sit on Freed's lap until my next turn, and Mira you have to sit on Bickslow's."

Lisanna stood up, really not worried about the dare at all. Freed was, and always had been, a perfect gentleman and plus she had a million layers of clothes to protect her from him ever being able to touch her skin. In all seriousness, he looked much more embarrassed than she did, and he held his hands up to allow her to sit on his lap without him touching her more than necessary. She sat down delicately, loving the fact that she wasn't embarrassed by Levy's dare, seeing as her and Freed were the two most ridiculously overdressed people in the game.

Mira, however, did not fare as well. She had already been stripped down to her underwear, and Bickslow wasn't much more covered in Lisanna's tiny shorts and tank top. Unlike Freed, he grinned widely and held his arms out, inviting her to take up residence on his lap. His eyes flickered green quickly, but no one appeared to notice. Mira sighed, walking over and settling herself between his legs before he leaned forward, pressed his chest against her back and wrapped his arms around her waist. Mira cringed at the feeling of his breath on her back, and wondered just how Lisanna put up with it. She just knew that his tongue was lolling out.

Levy was giggling at the look on Mira's face, and immediately knew that the dare she had come up with was the best idea that she had ever come up with. She laid back, resting on Gajeel's chest indicating to him that it was his turn, revelling in the fact that his cock started to twitch below her. The man wrapped his arms around her waist, almost able to touch his shoulders either side of her and thought of his main plan.

"I have never had sex in the guild hall."

Levy sighed as she watched others drink around her, knowing that she had avoided another vile shot for this round. Plus, it was Gajeel. He would never do anything bad to her, or call her a pussy for not choosing dare. She saw that his only other victim was Lisanna, and her mind started running off on a different track at the thought that everyone else there had fucked somewhere in the guildhall… And she was seriously hoping that it wasn't anywhere she had the misfortune of sitting.

"Truth or Dare, Lisanna?" Gajeel asked, trying to hold back his grin. He was hoping that the automatic choice of Dare was going to continue after he had thought of the perfect idea.

The youngest Strauss sibling replied with Dare, as Gajeel had predicted, and Gajeel's grin broke free to spread across his face.

"I dare you to lick everyone's guild marks. And you have to cover the whole thing, not just touch your tongue to it."

Lisanna sighed, knowing that it was going to be pretty bad. But, she had never been one to back out of a dare and she wasn't about to start now. She lifted the heavy mask off her face, it was so big that it was obstructing her mouth and thus her ability to stick out her tongue. Not only that, but every time she moved it banged against her head and she was sure that she was going to have quite a few bruises in the morning.

Picking up Freed's hand, pretending not to feel him start to squirm underneath her as she pressed the entire width of her tongue over his guild mark, thankful that due to its position it was relatively small. She knew that some of the others were quite large. Especially Bacchus'. She giggled as Freed immediately pulled his hand away and wiped it against his trousers before she stood up to make her way over to Laxus.

He had unbuttoned his shirt in preparation, and she could see where his mark joined in with the rest of his tattoo. He had sat back in his chair, making sure that she would have to straddle him to reach his mark. She sighed as she sat down on his lap, suddenly glad for Bacchus' dare increasing the amount of clothing between them. She leaned forward, sticking her tongue out but just before she was about to touch Laxus' skin she heard Bickslow's voice from her right.

"I would say that the entire tattoo is included within Laxus' Guild mark, wouldn't you, Gajeel?"

Just as she was about to sit back and yell at the man, Gajeel laughed from her left. It was the kind of laugh that accompanied torture in some of the sadistic horror movies she had been watching.

"Of course it does, Bickslow. If the guild mark is an integral part of the tattoo, then you could argue that it is a whole."

Lisanna growled, knowing that her lovely boyfriend had just increased her dare almost ten-fold. She looked up at Laxus, wanting him to object but really not surprised when he didn't. He was still sat with a stupid grin plastered across his face. She had to move further away in order to get low enough on his chest to start at the bottom of his tattoo and slowly licked her way up the skin, moving as she did to follow the trail right the way up to the top and around to the back of his shoulder. His skin was salty from sweat and made her cringe slightly. On the way back down to the next thread of his tattoo she made sure to lick over his guild mark. It was strange how different his muscular form was to Bickslow's. They were the same basic anatomy, but Laxus' was so much more developed than his. She finished up licking all over the black ink of his tattoo and finally slipped off his lap, trying desperately to ignore the smirk that was still plastered across his face.

She moved over to where her sister was sitting on Bickslow's lap, and her face dropped when she realised exactly where Mira's guild mark was. At least she wasn't wearing any clothes which she would have to remove in order to get to it. She knelt down on the floor, trying not to see the fact that Mira was covering her face in embarrassment. She took advantage of the awkward angle she was at to give the guild mark the smallest lick possible before waiting to see if anyone would protest. When it looked like no one would, she stood back up and scowled at Bickslow, still mad for what he had done regarding Laxus. He stuck his tongue out in preparation, and Lisanna simply pressed hers up against it.

Pulling away, she moved quickly and ensured a rather wet lick against the tattoo on his forehead in addition, making him scowl and wipe across it with his hand.

"Well, at least now technically I have licked Mira's leg. You will never be able to take that away from me."

Lisanna simply shot him a look, knowing that he struggled to keep his mouth shut without the ridiculous amount of alcohol he had been consuming throughout the day. She moved around the table to the next in line, seeing Levy sat upon Gajeel's lap.

The bluenette turned around, allowing Lisanna easier access to her guild mark. Lisanna had to move her bra strap in order to get to it, but it wasn't too bad to lick across her shoulder. Levy's mark was so much bigger than she ever would have guessed and after the first lick Gajeel shouted at her that she hadn't covered the entire mark, and she had to do it again. Levy giggled from the cold trail that Lisanna's tongue left against her hot skin and the way it tickled her back.

The youngest Strauss sibling moved away from Levy's back, and almost immediately turned to lick Gajeel's guild mark, angry that it was going to take another two licks due to his ridiculously enormous biceps. The stupid look on his face didn't help with her mood either. The anger brewing up in her caused inspiration to strike, and she used her cat take over power to turn her tongue into that of a cats, knowing that it was going to be like sandpaper over his skin.

She struggled to hide her smile, but when she dragged the rough surface across his skin he didn't even flinch. She made sure to lick it again immediately to try and rasp the backward-facing barbs into the already irritated skin but to no avail. Standing up to her full height again, Gajeel was just grinning at her as if he knew exactly what her plan had been.

"Iron skin, remember? Tiny little cat tongues aren't gonna touch that are they, Kitty?"

Lisanna resisted the urge to slap him, and it was only the fact that she knew that it would hurt her more than him that forced her to stop and retaliate purely through sticking her tongue out. She made her way over to Bacchus, who was leaning forward on the table to provide her easier access to his mark. It was huge, by far the biggest of everyone at the table, and it wasn't helped by the different design making it cover more space than the ones found on the Fairy Tail wizards. Her tongue almost didn't stretch across one stroke of the mark, and she had to adjust her head a couple of times to cover the whole expanse. It didn't help that the man was giggling the whole way through and it made his back quiver as it did. Finally she was done, and went to move onto Cana when Bacchus grabbed her arm.

"Wait, everyone else got their tattoos licked, what about me?"

Lisanna stared at the tiny tattoos below his eyes, and wondered if it was even worth protesting over it. After a seconds thought, she leaned forward and dragged her tongue underneath each of his eyes. He laughed even harder at the tickling sensation that it produced, and Lisanna simply left him to collapse into giggles at the end of the table.

When she got to Cana, the older woman's face was covered in a grin. Lisanna remembered why when she looked down at her guild mark, the bottom of it dipping below the waist line of her trousers. She pulled the fabric down slightly until it was all revealed and smirked up at Lisanna.

"Come on then, babe. I'm your last meal for tonight!"

Lisanna sighed, getting onto her knees to get better access to the mark on her hip before leaning forward to lick over it slowly. Cana's skin had the same salty taste as Laxus', although her skin was much smoother than the blonds. As soon as her tongue left Cana's skin, Cana groaned almost sexually and Lisanna shook her head, far too weirded out by the noise she had made. She finally retook her seat on Freed's lap, amazed that she was actually looking forward to settling down on his lap. What had this game done to her?

Gajeel tapped Levy on the shoulder, and when she turned around he greeted her to a grin. Levy sighed, after that display she really didn't trust Gajeel to give her something nice to do. He didn't even need to answer the question before she answered it.

"I'll take truth."

The grin that crossed his face made her think that she had chosen the wrong choice. It looked pure evil, and she almost shrank away into nothing.

"What is the dirtiest book you have ever read, and how often do you read it?"

Levy blushed, a combination of her embarrassment and the alcohol causing her skin to go bright red. She mumbled underneath her breath before Gajeel told her to speak up.

"It's called Caste Heaven. It's a Yaoi manga, and I don't know how many times I have read it…"

Gajeel grinned, all that he wanted to hear. He would have to look at it, seeing if he could get any ideas from it as to how to treat her in the bedroom. Despite it being a Yaoi, there had to be some things in there that she enjoyed.

"Cana?" Lisanna asked, looking over to the girl to her right after everyone stopped chuckling at Levy's embarrassment... "Who goes next? Me or Bickslow?"

Cana looked between the two in slow motion, trying to figure out what she was asking. After a few seconds, she realised that if Lisanna would have stayed in the same place then it would have been her turn, however now she had been moved it would have been either Mira or Bickslow's. After a few seconds of contemplation, she decided that it would be much simpler to go by everyone's original places.

"You go, Lisanna. Then we will all pray to any God that will listen, that Bickslow will pass out before his brain is allowed to play with us."

Bickslow groaned at Cana's assumption, unsure whether to be annoyed that she thought that he was literally insane or happy that his reputation had grown so large. He saw Lisanna smirking and just knew that she was trying to get revenge on him for making her lick the entirety of Laxus' tattoo. She looked him right in the eyes as she spoke out her turn.

"I have never had sex with a client."

Bickslow looked her right in the eyes as he picked up the shot from in front of him and threw it down his neck. That would teach her from trying to better him.

Levy watched everyone but her and Freed drink, and sighed. At least Lisanna would be nice to her. Maybe. The white haired girl laughed, a laugh that seemed slightly odd coming out of her mouth.

"Alright, you two. How about we do something a little different? How about we turn this into a competition?"

Levy looked at the rune mage sat across from her in curiosity. It was true their magic was very similar, and Levy had been improving her rune magic since she had been forced to rewrite Freed's runes almost a year before. She nodded, and the green-haired man quickly followed suit.

Lisanna grinned again, a grin that stretched impossibly far. She had definitely been spending far too much time with Bickslow.

"You need to write each other a rune trap. The first to trap the other wins."

Levy looked Freed in the eyes, and knew that it was going to be a close call. Sure, Freed was much more skilled than her but she had been drinking a lot less. It was entirely possible that she would be able to beat him just this once.

Freed reached into his pocket and pulled out a light pen, thankfully throwing a spare one over to Levy. She tended not to carry them with her so without this gesture she would not have had a chance of beating him. Grabbing the pen in her hand, she waited for him to nod to start writing.

She was sure that it was going to be extremely boring for everyone else to watch, so she cut a few corners. All she had to do was trap Freed for a short amount of time, and give him a condition to get out. She was almost positive that he was too drunk to bother looking for weaknesses in her runes. She didn't even risk looking up as she scribbled in the air as quickly as she could, trying desperately to remember all the correct clauses and tenses to make her barrier as strong as possible.

When she was finally finished, she put her pen down on the table and grinned to see the barely-formed starts of the trap fall around her. Freed's attention to detail had been his downfall. Sure, her trap was rough and ready and Freed would get past it if given more than a few minutes to contemplate, but he didn't have that. She had won.

"And the winner is... LEVY!"

Cana screamed in excitement, almost overturning the table in her celebration. Levy beamed, happy to have beaten Freed and more than slightly excited about what was going to happen next.

Freed groaned. How could he have lost? He had barely even started to secure the trap when Levy announced she had finished. He watched as the walls of her trap strengthened and solidified around him, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was Levy, she would let him out soon enough. He looked around for the terms of the trap, and his face fell.

Of course, he could quite easily write his way out of it. Yes. That's what he would have to do.

Taking out his light pen he began rewriting the runes before Lisanna knocked the pen out of his hands allowing it to clatter across the floor and out of the confines of the trap.

"Don't you fucking dare, Freed. You obey the rules of the trap like all of us have to with yours."

Freed sighed, seeing the logic in Lisanna's words. He looked back up to the condition of release and read it out loud.

"The males within this trap must remove each other's clothes, down to their underwear. They must not remove a single piece of their own clothing."

Laxus smirked again, still sat in his chair and simply watching Freed's predicament play out in front of him. He knew that there was no arguing his way out of this, and it wasn't as if he and Freed hadn't been naked around each other before. Lisanna quickly moved out of the way, standing beside Cana and slung her arm around the brunette's neck leaning awkwardly with a grin plastered to her face as Laxus stood up. The blond stretched his arms over his head before standing in front of Freed. His blush hadn't fully diminished since they had kissed earlier and still dusted across the tops of his cheeks.

Pulling Freed up from the safety of his chair he grabbed Freed's belt and pulled it out of the clasp, slowly snaking it through all of the loops and dropping it on the floor. Freed covered his face fully with his hands, but Laxus forced his arms outwards in order to undo the buttons on the front of his coat. As soon as they were all free, he pulled Freed's arms down gently in order to ease the heavy fabric off his shoulders.

As soon as the coat hit the floor, Freed's arms simply hung at his sides, completely resigned to his fate.

Laxus moved to the buttons on Freed's shirt, undoing each of the fastenings in sequence until his chest was revealed and his shirt was able to slip off his shoulders, following his coat to the floor.

Laxus took a step back, allowing Freed to copy his actions on himself. The green haired man brought up his hands slowly, and pulled apart the last remaining buttons on Laxus' shirt, reaching up to push the material off his shoulders and leaving him in a similar state of undress. Moving his hands down, trying not to touch Laxus' skin as he did, he unfastened the older man's belt and discarded it to the floor with his own. He refused to look Laxus in the eyes as he undid the button on of his trousers and dropped to his knees, drawing them down as he did.

He immediately regretted his decision when Laxus' trousers got stuck on his shoes. You take the shoes off before the trousers, Freed. That's just the way it works. Laxus cackled at his misfortune, the laugh filling the air around Freed and deepening his blush. He stood back as the Dragon Slayer sat himself back down on the chair and lifted his feet to allow Freed to slide off his shoes.

Finally, Freed had stripped Laxus down to his boxers, but he still wasn't looking forward to the returning treatment. Laxus stared him down until he sat on the chair, Lisanna has moved, stood behind his chair smirking. Laxus looked up at him pointedly as he removed both of his boots, before beckoning for Freed to stand up.

As soon as he was stood, Laxus loosened the rune mages trousers, and allowed them to fall to the floor. As soon as Freed stepped out of the garments the barrier of runes around them dissipated, and everyone around the table erupted in cheers. Laxus sat back down on his chair, unperturbed by his lack of clothes. He took another sip of his beer, and awaited his next instructions.

Freed was much more reserved as he sat back on his allocated chair, and Lisanna sat back on his lap. The white haired girl on top of him reached forward, grabbing a beer and chugging it down in one. Her older sister looked at her, perplexed.

"Erm, Lisanna. Since when did you chug beer?"

The younger Strauss sibling looked over to her, before breaking into a grin and letting her tongue loll out. Mira gasped, wondering what had happened to her sister.

Without a hesitation, Gajeel picked Levy up off his lap and placed her carefully on the floor in front of him, making sure that she was balanced. He grabbed the mask that was on the table in front of him, and shoved it over Bickslow's head so it covered his eyes. Immediately Lisanna stooped forward in her chair, before shaking her head and sitting up straight again.

"What the hell happened?" she said almost sleepily, looking around for a while before seeing Bickslow sat rubbing his temples wearily as he held the helmet up partially with one hand.

"He possessed her at some point." Gajeel explained, sitting back down and pulling Levy back to her place on his lap. "His eyes turned green, I am genuinely surprised that none of you noticed. You are a true bunch of drunkards."

Bickslow groaned into his hands, it had been a long time since he had been drunk enough to completely lose control of his figure eyes. He could feel his five totems laying scattered around him on the floor as Laxus walked past him, heading to the bar for a pint of water. Making his way back, he slammed it down on the table in front of Bickslow before patting him on the back.

"You alright, buddy?"

Bickslow nodded, drinking the water down as fast as he could. All he had to do was keep his mask on, and no one else at the table would be at risk of his eyes again. Sitting back in his chair again, and giving Mira the space to sit back down, he looked around the table.

"So, I guess it's my turn, huh? I have never used my magic in the bedroom."

He looked around, now safely behind the protection of his mask, watching everyone apart from Levy, Bacchus and Cana. Bacchus and Cana he would have guessed, but not Levy. He grinned, his possibilities had just opened up in front of him.

"So, Ladies, are we going to choose Truth or Dare?"

Bacchus groaned at being called a woman, before choosing dare with Cana following soon after. Levy looked at the Seith mage, before heeding Cana's warning and choosing Dare. Bickslow sighed at the choice, but continued on none the less.

"Levy, describe to Laxus in detail what Gajeel's cock feels like inside of you."

Levy's mouth hung open, surprised that the question had come so easily out of his mouth.

"That's a dare, surely? Not a truth?"

Bickslow grinned, his tongue lolling out again for the first time since his helmet had been shoved back on. He was obviously feeling a lot better.

"Oh, I am asking you what Gajeel's cock feels like. I am just requesting that you look Laxus in the eye while you do it."

Levy sighed, knowing that she had no choice in arguing against Bickslow. He didn't need his figure eyes to be persuasive. She turned to Laxus, who was just sat with a smirk plastered over his face. It didn't look like he was going to protest to this in any way. Gulping down some more of her drinks, she pretended that there was no one but him and her in the room, and spoke.

"Well, it's really big so if feels like it is going to rip me apart, but in a good way. And the piercings always seem to hit in just the right place, especially with the one through the head. And they are so cold compared to his skin, too. It is simply magical."

She blocked out everyone's laughter, and as soon as she finished talking her eye contact with Laxus broke. He hadn't looked away the entire time, and it was making her feel somehow more uncovered. She drew her arms across her chest, and sank into Gajeel's body feeling his arms wrap protectively around her. Laxus chuckled, picking up his beer and starting to drink.

"Cana! Bacchus!" Bickslow shouted, thankfully taking all of the attention away from Levy finally. Everyone in the room turned their faces to the end of the table and watched as the intoxicated couple giggled purely from the mention of their names.

"Cana, I want you to spank Bacchus. Hard. Like you really mean it."

Cana burst into full bodied laughter at the suggestion, as Bacchus simply leant himself over the table. Cana took up position behind him and wound her hand back. Leaning over his back, she spoke in a horse whisper into his ear.

"I am gonna hit you ten times. I want you to count them off for me."

And with that, Cana got to it. Levy felt weird watching two of her friends interacting so sexually in front of her but she couldn't bear to look away. It was almost hypnotising the way their skin connected, and how Bacchus' flesh got increasingly red with each hit. She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. When it was finally finished, Levy was starting to feel slightly wet between her legs, and prayed that no one would notice. Come to think of it, she wasn't ever given a time scale for her state of undress… She was pulled out of her thoughts by Laxus standing up, and raising his voice to boom throughout the empty hall.

"Right, you Fuckers! Are you ready to really play now?"

It was going to be a long night.


	21. Chapter 21

Levy groaned, slamming her head against the pillow. By the pressure of all the fabric around her that she was in fact, in Gajeel's bed, she was pretty sure that no other person on the planet had as strong of a nesting instinct as he did. She had been up for a mere few seconds, and already she was wishing that she could go back to sleep. The light was too bright even through her clenched eyelids, and she shifted backwards into the solid mass of muscle behind her. She could feel Gajeel fiddling with something over her head, but when she showed the signs of waking, he slammed his hands together and whatever he was doing was gone.

"Good morning, Shrimp. How is your head this morning?"

Levy grumbled, turning to bury her face into Gajeel's chest. He was topless, and her nose brushed up against one of his piercings. It felt cold against her skin causing her to move away quickly. She looked up to see him smiling down at her before once again hiding her face in his chest, careful to avoid the piercings this time, and blocked out as much sun from her eyes as possible. She could remember only snippets of information from the night before, and groaned once more when she remembered what had happened during the drinking game. Had Bickslow and Bacchus made out, or was that just her imagination?

"What time did we get back, Gajeel?"

She felt his hands run through her hair, working out the tangles in the strands before massaging her scalp. It felt almost heavenly, and she tried not to moan in pleasure. His voice sounded brighter than usual, as if he had been up for a while and Levy wondered why he hadn't gone about his day before she had awoken, and instead just lay with her in his arms. After a second of thinking, she realised that if she had the chance to just lie in Gajeel's arms then she would have taken it immediately.

"It was about 4am when we got back here. You were so drunk you couldn't walk and I had to carry you back."

Levy moaned, that was now the third night in a row that Gajeel had carried her back to his bed. This was becoming far too frequent a habit. Gajeel didn't seem to mind, anyway, and his bed was much more comfortable than the one she had back at Fairy Hills, not to mention the space heater that was in the bed with her.

"And what time is it now?"

Gajeel leant down to kiss her forehead, knowing that as soon as he told her the time she would be out the door in seconds. He wanted to savour this moment, even for just a few seconds longer.

"Eleven."

Just as he suspected, Levy shot up in bed, eyes widening as she did. She moved faster than he ever could have imagined someone that hungover to move as she started to search around for some clothes on his mess of a bedroom floor.

"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. I need to get that translation finished by today. Gajeel! Where are my clothes?!"

And just like that, his peaceful morning had ended.

Gajeel wasn't sure if even ten minutes had passed by the time he was trailing after Levy into the guildhall. Seeing as she had thrown on one of his shirts, with his belt tied tightly around her waist Gajeel had been very tempted not to let her leave the house, and to throw her back onto the bed. Along with her big black combat boots, she looked like a miniature female version of him, and that was far more attractive than he could ever had imagined.

She turned a few heads when she entered the guild, mostly from people gossiping as to whether they were officially a couple yet. Gajeel headed to the bar to order them breakfast, he would have to get organised enough to make breakfast at their own place soon, while Levy made a beeline for her table full of books she had left out the night before. No one would have dared to move them and incur the wrath of the Solid Script mage, and now by proxy the wrath of Gajeel. From the bar, he watched her rearrange the books in what must have made logical sense to her but to him just seemed like she was shuffling them around for no apparent reason. Before Kinana had even appeared to take his order, Levy's head was buried back in her book again.

"A dragon sized breakfast and a beer, and a normal breakfast with the strongest coffee that you have, please."

The girl behind the bar smiled, scribbling the order down on her pad before striking up a conversation with the dragon slayer.

"You must have had one hell of a night last night, Gajeel!"

The black haired man gave her a quizzical look. He couldn't remember ever holding a conversation with her before, but still he had to make an effort to be polite.

"Both Mira and Lisanna called in to say they were going to be late today. I've got Elfman back there helping me in the kitchen, talk about a nightmare."

Gajeel smirked, the imagery of the mountainous man trying to manoeuvre around the tiny kitchen too good to ignore. Kinana joined in with his laughter for a minute, before excusing herself to take his order back, confirming to him that his food and drink would be over shortly. Gajeel made his way over to where Levy was sitting, and simply watched her work.

As soon as Levy had finished her coffee, it became another exercise in forcing her to eat occasionally. Gajeel wasn't even sure how she had managed to survive before him; she seemed to hardly eat anything without him constantly prodding her to distract her from the work. Finally, the breakfast he had brought over for her was finished and Gajeel was content to finally just allow her to work without the constant interruption.

She really was incredible when she worked, she had the habit of toying with her bottom lip whenever the words got slightly more difficult for her to understand, and every so often, she needed to tuck her hair behind her ear. She hadn't put in a hair band that morning, and her hair was falling all around her face as she worked. Gajeel could have spent the whole day just watching her work, but before too long she had finished. The Dragon Slayer wasn't sure what she had been worried about earlier. She had until the end of the day to finish the translation, and she had already finished when it was just after noon. He watched as she sat back, breathing a sigh of relief before getting up to turn the job in to Kinana.

"Hey," the woman behind the bar said as she looked at the job flyer Levy was trying to hand in. "This is the one that Mira was talking about yesterday, the urgent one, right?"

Levy nodded. She wasn't quite in the mood to talk about it, the dull thudding in her head still apparent despite the various potions that she had taken that morning. Maybe she needed to go and talk to Wendy about getting some better medication, or even some healing magic.

"I think Mira left a note around here somewhere…" Kinana was rooting around under the bar, and Levy could hear the familiar rustle of papers from shelves hidden there. "Ah, here it is. Yeah, I thought so; the guy left an address for delivery. I don't have time to drop it off now; it will have to be after my shift."

Levy thought for a second, mind fluttering to the interesting work she had been reading over the past 24 hours. It was some pretty ground breaking research, despite some of it being a little disturbing, and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to meet the person behind it.

"That's alright; me and Gajeel can take it over now. It was pretty urgent, and it would reflect well on the guild if we get it delivered ahead of schedule."

Kinana nodded, smiling at the fact she wouldn't have to walk all the way to the other side of town after her shift ended, and handed the paper with the address and instructions over to the Solid Script mage on the other side of the bar.

"Mira mentioned that he was staying in a hotel within Magnolia, so it's not far to go really. He only gave his name as Lin, but said that if you asked for him at the desk they would send you up to him."

Levy smiled back at the barmaid, before running over to where Gajeel was sat. He was looking bored, and snapped out of his trance as soon as she appeared in front of him.

"Gajeel, I need to go and hand this translation in. Do you wanna come with me? It's a lovely day for a walk and the fresh air may clear our heads."

Gajeel smirked, not needing to have his head cleared at all, but decided not to make that too apparent. Standing up, he ignored the mass of books on the table, knowing that they would come back to them later, and took Levy's hand as they both left the door.

They walked hand in hand down the street, through the poshest part of Magnolia. Some of the pedestrians looked sideways at Gajeel, as he simply glared back at them, but most just ignored them as they floated around the streets, not giving as much as a glance to anyone they occupied the pavement with.

The hotel they were looking for was at the end of a long boulevard, lined either side with expensive shops Levy would have to work for a year to afford even the smallest of items from. The fronts were all white marble and glass, and Gajeel's rough fashion sense had never looked more out of place.

The hotel itself was a monolith, the façade matching that of the surrounding shops perfectly. A semi-circle of paving at the front marked out a path for any magic-mobiles or carriages to park and unload their passengers, surrounded by pure red flowers. Not a single flower differed from those around it, with a display of plant magic to make even Droy jealous. As they walked past, the flowers swayed in the breeze and a scent of cinnamon entered Levy's nose. That surely was not natural, and she giggled as Gajeel wrinkled up his nose and sneezed. They ran up the front steps to the huge glass doors, and pushed them aside to enter the foyer.

The woman behind the counter was stunningly beautiful, and that was coming from someone who had grown up around the goddesses in Fairy Tail. She had green hair that was pulled up into a bun, which seemed to be held together with two chopsticks, and her face was made up impeccably. Not a hair was out of place, and she smiled one of the broadest smiles that Levy had ever seen as the couple approached the guest.

"Good afternoon, how could I help you today?"

Gajeel looked around the foyer as Levy discussed with the woman behind the till about seeing her client. She reeked of perfume, so strong it nearly burned Gajeel's nose, and he could see the streaks that the makeup made across her cheeks. Added to that the falseness of the smile and the deceptive way her voice bounced with fake kindness and Gajeel had had enough of her without even speaking a word.

The hotel was the kind that if he and Levy pooled their money, even after the higher paying jobs the Grand Magic Games brought in, they couldn't dream of spending even a night there. The foyer was spotless, and the walls sparkled as if they had been meticulously polished. He was playing with some flowers that sat on the desk, these ones a deep purple and smelling of chocolate, when Levy grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the lifts.

"Come on, Gajeel. The guy's in the penthouse suite. The quicker we go up there, the quicker we can get back to our peasant lives."

The mirth in her voice was more beautiful than any part of his surroundings, and Gajeel followed her into the large mirrored lift, complete with an operator. His polite demeanour cracked for a second when he saw the couple, dressed in matching black tops and boots, but before Gajeel could point it out he was the perfect gentleman again.

As massive as the hotel was, the top floor consisted of only two rooms. It needed a special card to access, which Levy provided to the operator and soon they were making their way up to the top floor at a frightening speed. She had been informed by the beautiful woman at the counter that this was the only lift that went to the man's room, and opened up at the top into the room directly. The man had been informed that she was there, and would be waiting at the top. As the elevator sped to the top floor, Levy wondered just what kind of man would possess a book on the genetics of magic, and her mind wondered to what he might look like. She imagined a tiny old man, bald and wrinkled surrounded by books on research and scraps of hastily scribbled notes.

When the doors opened, the man that faced them was nothing like she had ever imagined. He was tall, easily as tall as Gajeel with the same build. He towered above her as he held out his hand for her to shake. His hair was long, slicked back and pulled into a braid at the back of his head that Levy could see as he turned to shake Gajeel's hand. He wore a the trousers and waist coat of a pinstriped suit over a white shirt, the fabric pulled tight over his muscles to reveal the dark writing of tattoos over every inch of his arms and chest that Levy could see. The tattoos stopped abruptly at his wrists, preventing Levy from seeing any of the writing clearly enough to translate. He was ageless, and Levy thought that he could be anything from her age up to his early forties. She just could not tell. As she was wondering, he began to speak in a deep voice that shot deep into her ears.

"You must be Levy McGarden, and if I am not mistaken this is the Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel Redfox?"

They both nodded to the man, who grinned a grin that spread across his face and illuminated his eyes so Levy could see the colour of his irises. They were such a dark red they were almost black, but they sparkled with excitement as if he were a child walking into his favourite store. Or Erza walking into a dessert shop.

"It's so amazing to meet you! I watched you in the Grand Magic Games and the fight with the Dragons afterwards. It truly was a pleasure."

As the man was gushing over Gajeel, Levy looked around the room. It was obviously just an entranceway, lined with flowerpots alternating with big glass doors to show the room beyond. The floor was shiny white marble, covered with an opulent rug, which probably cost more than Levy had ever earned or ever will earn. She peered through the door to her left to see what looked like a four-poster bed and the door in front lead to what looked like a fully stocked kitchen with a floor to ceiling window looking out across Magnolia. Before she could investigate any further, the man in front of her clapped his hands and shocked her out of her thoughts.

"How incredibly ill-mannered of me, I know your names and I never introduced myself. My name is Lin Chasso. If you want to come through to the study, we can go over business together."

He lead the couple through a door in the right of the corridor to another large room, this time with the windows looking out over another sector of Magnolia and right the way down to the sea. The room was quite bare, obviously open for each occupant to bring their own books and work to populate it. Lin had covered the large desk with books on topics similar to the one that Levy had translated, although none of them quite as in depth as hers. He indicated for them to take a seat on the other side of the desk as he sat down across from her.

"Tea?"

Both Gajeel and Levy nodded, and the man pulled three cups from somewhere under the desk. They weren't typical teacups, rather large mugs that looked like they could hold at least half a litre of tea. He turned on a heating lacrima, one of the high-end ones that heated the water in seconds. He filled up two mugs, and passed them over the table while indicating for his guests to add their own milk and sugar.

"I'm sorry; it's just so bizarre to have two amazing wizards in front of me. I have always wanted to join a guild, but unfortunately, my magic has never been powerful enough. But if I could, I hoped that it would have been Fairy Tail."

The man's accent was hard to place, as soon as Gajeel could discern which region it came from it seemed to change to something completely different. It started off as Boscan, but then switched to the distinctive tang of those growing up in Hargeon, but then there was the definite undertone of someone from Alvarez. He had never heard anything like it before, and he wanted to ask just where the guy originated from.

"My family travelled a lot when I was younger, which lead my mixed accent."

Gajeel stared into the man's dark eyes, forcing him to explain the intrusion into his head. He hated telepaths, but couldn't say anything for fear of ruining Levy's business meeting.

"My apologies, I'm a telepath. I will try to keep it under control."

He looked guilty as he sat down across from them in the large wooden chair, pouring himself a large mug of tea. Levy busied herself with taking the book of notes out of her bag, reminding herself not to let her thoughts get out of control from that moment forward.

"It's very interesting research, from what I gathered while translating it. What got you into it?"

The man across from her sat back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other as he did. She felt Gajeel shift uncomfortably next to her, and felt a little remorseful that she had dragged him along. She had thought that it would just be dropping the book off but the man was settling in for a long chat.

"In actual fact, this was my father's research. He was a telepath and my mother held the magic of teleportation. They had three children, three boys, my two brothers, and me. My elder brother was a natural born teleporter and was teleporting almost as soon as he could walk and my younger brother wasn't much older when he discovered his knack for telepathy."

The man was swilling his tea around in his mug, staring into it as he told his story. Levy couldn't help but be captivated by the tale, his voice lending itself easily to storytelling with a natural cadence that made the words interesting.

"I was almost a teen before my magic developed. However, unlike my two brothers, I developed both my mother and my father's magic. This intrigued my father. It was common for a child to develop the same magic as one of their parents, but my father wanted to look into what led me to cultivate both."

Levy nodded, there had been a lot in the book about the genetics of magic, and it was genuinely interesting to her despite the dark turn it took at the end.

"It made him quite mad, in the end. The amount of work he was doing on it. However, he wanted me to continue with his work, so here I am. With the help of yourself, of course."

Levy smiled, passing the small leather bound book over to the man in front of her along with the thick sheaf of paper she had written her translation on.

"Thank you. This could not have been easy; I understand that they are written in a variety of languages. No matter how much we travelled, I never learnt anything but my own tongue I'm afraid."

Gajeel's thoughts immediately switched over to Draconic, immediately figuring out a way to prevent the man across the table from reading his thoughts. The man didn't seem to notice as he flicked through the translation that Levy had provided for him. Levy sat to the side, waiting in anticipation for the man to agree to the translation so they could leave. After what felt like an age, the man nodded, placing the work back down on his desk and opening one of the drawers.

Levy watched as Lin pulled out the biggest sack of gold she had ever seen, and passed it over the table to her.

"I added a little onto the price I quoted Ms. Strauss at the guild as a reward for getting it done so quickly, and for the inconvenience of you having to deliver it to me. Please let me know if there isn't enough there and I will go and get some more."

Levy stared at the huge amount of jewels that he had given her; it was enough to pay her rent for at least a year. She struggled under its weight, until Gajeel steadied her and took it off her. She looked back at the man, astounded at the amount he had just handed over as if it was nothing.

"Are you sure? It's an awful lot of money and it really wasn't that much bother delivering it to you…"

The man waved his hands in front of his face, telling Levy with his actions that the payment was really, what he wanted to give her. He smiled to her, before speaking up.

"I have a lot more of my father's notes; I will be honest and tell you that I was testing you with this book. I had heard that you were the best in the business, but I needed to see for myself. The rest won't be as urgent, and I can give them to you now if you are happy to take on the work."

Levy nodded hastily. Not only was the job well paid, but also the fascinating research would make a welcome change to all of the badly written plays she had been translating recently.

"You can get them mailed to me as well, so you won't have to make the journey back to my home town." Lin explained as he pulled sheaves upon sheaves of loose notes along with thick bound tomes similar to the one that Levy had already translated. Despite the speed that she had translated the previous book, the ones that he was giving her looked like months of work. She would be set for the next few years with the payments he would be giving her.

Gajeel held back a groan as the man provided Levy with three large bags in which to transport the papers he was giving her, and he just knew that he would be carrying them back to her apartment soon. Lin stood, and Gajeel went to follow before the man span on his heels and spoke to the couple in excited tones.

"Actually, how would you like to take lunch with me? It would be on me, of course. Think of it as an advanced payment for all the work you are going to do for me."

Gajeel and Levy looked to each other, the Dragon Slayer unsure whether this was something that Levy did with her clients often. For him it was usually just proving he had beaten up whoever the client wanted beating up, and then collecting the reward and getting on his way. But before he could protest, his girlfriend opened her mouth for him.

"It would be too much; I don't want to take any more of your money."

"Nonsense! Lin shouted, grabbing a suit coat from the hallway as he showed the couple out. "It's not every day you get to treat a famous Dragon Slayer and the best translator on the continent to lunch!"

The restaurant was one of the poshest that Levy had ever been in, and to start with both her and Gajeel felt awkward sitting there in their normal clothes whereas everyone around them were dressed up in some of the poshest clothes Levy had ever seen. They reminded her of the types of clothing people were milling around in during the banquet after the Grand Magic Games, but this time it was in the middle of the day and in Magnolia. She had never really ventured into this side of the town very often, and it was like being in another world.

Their reservations were destroyed when Lin stayed chatty throughout the meal, easing their tension. He spoke about everything and anything, wanting to know about their lives and their work in the guild and squealing almost as loud as Mira did when he found out that they were together. It was odd, making the couple feel almost like celebrities with the amount the man in front of them praised them. He insisted on paying for the meal, and they ate like kings. Lin was obviously used to dining in such establishments, and recommended food for the both of them. Levy had fish that melted in her mouth, and Gajeel was treated to a steak, although Levy had to keep reminding him that he wasn't allowed to eat the cutlery. He moaned about it, and Lin laughed as if he had known them for years. The man really was easy to get along with.

They parted ways at the restaurant just as the sun was beginning to set. Lin handed Levy a card with details of how to contact him, before heading back to the hotel. The couple walked hand in hand down the road back to Gajeel's place automatically, Levy sighing and resting her head on Gajeel's arm.

"You know; it was nice spending time with Lin but I really miss spending time alone with you."

Gajeel chuckled, adjusting the heavy bags on his shoulder as he walked along, and squeezed his woman's hand.

"You mean you miss my cock, shorty?"

Levy gasped, slapping him half-heartedly but giggling to tell him that he was forgiven. They walked along in silence for a little while longer, before Levy spoke.

"Gajeel, would you mind coming along with me to the bookshop tomorrow? There's a couple of books I have had my eyes on, and now I have this extra money I might be able to get some. Plus, I will need to grab some more things to help me with Lin's extra translations, so it will be work related…"

Gajeel stopped his walking, and Levy took a few extra steps before realising. He used their conjoined hands to pull her close to him with ease. He kissed her forehead gently, bending over to allow him access.

"Whatever you want, Shrimp. I just wanna spend a full day with you."

Levy smiled, before tipping her head up to kiss Gajeel properly. How had her life fallen into place so easily?


	22. Chapter 22

They were kissing before they even got into the house. The extended period of not being able to kiss each other, coupled with Levy's elation at the large payment she had just received lead to their need to touch each other again. Levy ran upstairs towards the bedroom, chuckling as Gajeel dropped all of his bags and followed her. By the time he joined her in the room, she was sat on the bed, looking at him enticingly and he closed the gap between them in less than a second. He tackled her back onto his bed, loving the way she looked surrounded by his nest and started to kiss her. She looked so tiny beneath him, and suddenly he knew that he wanted to share his nest with her forever.

He allowed his hands to work their way through her hair, revelling in the time he could spend being gentle with her while his Dragon was still buried deep inside his soul. Her blue locks were like silk between his fingers, and so different to his own rough strands. He grinned into her mouth when she wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing his heart to beat faster when he realised that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Moving his hands down, he cradled her chin in his hands and tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. His heightened sense of hearing picked up the moans starting to bubble up from her throat and he made sure to swallow them down when they erupted into her mouth.

His hands made a journey down to her shoulders, followed by his mouth leaving a hot trail down her neck. He kissed the space where her neck met her shoulder and revelled in the moans that now escaped from her. It was a few seconds before she used her hips to start to reposition them on the bed. Gajeel grinned at her starting to take control and allowed her to take the position on top of him. Her legs straddled either side of his waist and her makeshift dress rode up to her hips allowing him to take her arse in his hands.

She returned his ministrations by kissing down each side of his neck, moving the sleeves of his shirt to the side in order to take the piercings found along his clavicle. He couldn't stop himself from moaning as a shiver of pleasure ran down his spine.

"Have I ever told you how fucking amazing that feels, Short Stuff?"

He heard her giggle into his skin and it felt even better. It tickled his shoulder and made his breath catch in his throat. He knew that he needed his Shrimp more than anything in that moment, even more than oxygen or iron.

He felt her start to toy with the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head before throwing it away to land somewhere in his room. He closed his eyes as she set about kissing every inch of his skin above his waist while he just lay there enjoying the feeling and trying desperately hard to keep his dragon deep down inside him so he could hold onto the moment as long as possible.

As her kisses turned to her nibbling his skin, he growled at the sudden spots of pain as his Dragon started to rear up inside him. He moved his hands up to Levy's shoulders and gently pushed her off him.

"Slow down, Shrimp. I want to keep the Dragon down for as long as possible, and that's not helping."

The bluenette just smiled up at him, a grin that bordered on evil. She stretched up to the top of his body and placed a kiss on his nose before quickly dismounting him and running over to her bag before rummaging around within it. He watched her go before she turned around and walked back over to him and spun a pair of handcuffs around her fingers. Gajeel smirked at the look on her face, before speaking up.

"Although that is super fucking hot, Shrimp, I think you've forgotten who you are dealing with here."

She remained silent as she walked back over to him, gesturing for him to reposition on the bed so that she could attach him to the headrest. He obliged, willing to let her live out her fantasy for as long as his dragon allowed. He reached his arms over his head and linked them behind the headboard to allow Levy to attach them together. He smirked as she straddled his chest and bent over him, clicking each of the cuffs on in turn.

It took a few seconds for the effect to kick in, and he felt the magic energy sink out of him along with the dragon soul that hid inside him. He looked up to the bluenette above him, the smirk that had disappeared off his face now plastered across hers.

"Levy. Have I ever told ya you're a fucking genius?"

Levy grinned, leaning down to kiss him on the nose. His mind swam with opportunities that arose from the new knowledge that he had acquired as Levy simply sat above him, slowly moving her hands up and down his arms and giving him time to adjust to the new position he had found himself in. How had he made it to this point without figuring out he could use magic blocking cuffs to get rid of the dragon.

"Shrimp, this time, we can go gently. I don't have to be rough with you."

Levy bit her lip with a smirk sitting behind it, her eyes watching him closely. She shifted her hips back to meet his before lying her body against his torso. She kissed him heavily, and she tasted like the lime she had eaten in her meal earlier. Hands curled around his biceps, and she rested her forehead against his.

"Gentle later. Right now, I am being in charge. There is no way I am passing this opportunity."

Gajeel swallowed, the way she spoke sending shivers right to his crotch and driving him mad. She was still his shrimp, alright, but she was showing him an entirely different side to herself. Without warning, she rolled her hips and a growl rose out of his throat involuntarily. The grin seemed to spread wider and, wider than he ever would have thought possible, and she ground her hips against his more forcefully.

She started ever so slowly, kissing his left wrists before moving down his arm and leaving the occasional bruise on his flesh. Without his magic to protect him from the small marks, even her tiny teeth stung his skin and drove him even wilder. The slow pace was almost painful as she moved back up to his right wrist and continued her journey to heighten his senses even higher than they already were.

"Shrimp…"

His protests were met with her biting on his skin harder, and soon he was forced to bite his own lip to stop him from moaning her name out loud. There was no way he was giving her the satisfaction of knowing just how crazy she was driving him. When she had finished her investigation of his arms, he could see the longing on her face and knew that she wouldn't be able to stand teasing him much longer. Without a second thought, and with knowing the likelihood of punishment, he thrust his hips up into her core and revelled in the squeak that left her hips. Like he suspected, she punished him immediately by biting down on the flesh just above his left nipple, but his plan still worked. She forgot about teasing him slowly and shuffled down on the bed to kneel by the side of him. After a brief struggle with his belt, she was pulling his trousers down his legs and eventually off his feet altogether.

He hissed as he felt her settle herself in between his legs, and her tongue shot out of her mouth to lick across the tip of his cock. It was hypersensitive around his piercings, and she circled each one with a slow precision before taking as much of him as she could into her mouth. Something in the back of his head told him that he had to thank Cana the next time he saw her.

She alternated between long, slow licks and taking him into her mouth until he was almost in a frenzy. His arms tugged at the restraints, desperate to run his hands through her hair, over her shoulders, just desperate to touch her in any way possible but his bindings held fast. He was so close to his release, so close to letting himself go but as soon as he moaned her name to let her know, she pulled away and grinned at the obvious look of disappointment on his face.

"Levy… you are a devil woman; ya know that?"

She simply replied to his statement by standing and stepping off the bed, looking seductively at him as she removed his t-shirt that was covering her and leaving her in her bra and an old pair of his boxers that she had stolen that morning. Turning her back to him, she slowly removed her underwear as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Gajeel gulped almost audibly at the show that she was putting on, the seductive look on her face alone driving him insane.

His breath caught in his throat as she straddled him again, this time wasting no time in lowering herself onto him, inch by inch taking his cock inside of her.

Her look of bliss almost drove him over the edge, and when she leant forward to rest her hands on either side of his abs for support, he thought he had gone to heaven. Her pace was slow and steady at first as she leant forward to kiss him again. Realising this was his only chance Gajeel grabbed it. He kissed her forcefully, taking her bottom lip between his teeth and teasing it, forcing her to groan into his mouth. It was a noise so primal it made his hips twitch involuntarily. The movement made Levy jump out of her trance as she sat back up, retaking her upright position with her hands spread on his torso for support.

She started moving quicker, and Gajeel knew then that there was no way he was still in Earthland. He took it all in, the way her breasts bounced and her hair fell across her face as the headband trying to hold it back lost its battle for control. The feeling coming from his crotch intensified, and both of their breathing got heavier the closer they both got to their release. Levy's face twisted in pleasure as she let herself go on top of him, and as soon as the walls around his cock tightened he knew that it would be the ending of him.

His arms pulled at the restraints above him involuntarily as he shouted into the bedroom and Levy collapsed on top of him. Her face rested in the crook of his shoulder and her breath danced across his sweat-soaked skin and tickled where it was still hyper sensitive. After a few seconds of rest, she eased herself off him before reaching up and releasing him from the cuffs.

It was less than a second before she was encapsulated in his arms, him burying his face in her hair and taking in all of her scents. The feeling of magic returned to his bones, but he didn't care. All he wanted right now was the feeling of her skin on his.

"Never thought you were into such kinky shit, Levy."

He had never thought that she could have gone redder, but sure enough, the blush deepened on her skin and she immediately hid her face in his chest. He simply chuckled at her embarrassment, stroking her hair in his hand. How had he stumbled into such perfection?

Levy gathered Gajeel's blankets around the both of them, suddenly missing the way that they enveloped her. She would have to buy some more blankets for her bed back in her apartment, she was getting too used to the whole nest business and couldn't ever see herself sleeping with just the one quilt again. She looked up at him as he rested his eyes closed. It was starting to grow dark around them and it was becoming obvious that she would be staying there another night.

"I might need to borrow some more of your clothes tomorrow, Gajeel."

She giggled into his chest, she would never admit it out loud, but she was very fond of wearing his clothes. It allowed her to be surrounded by his smell all day, even when he wasn't anywhere near her. When he responded, his voice was already sounding sleepy.

"Why don't you just bring all your stuff here, Shrimp?"

She froze, suddenly realising what he was suggesting. She had loved spending the last few days with him, but the sudden proposition that they moved in together brought her back to reality. Gajeel obviously didn't pick up on it as he carried on talking.

"I mean, you wouldn't have to pay rent anymore leaving more money for you and I can build another room for all of your books eventually if you think of somewhere to store them until then."

Levy stared up at his face, looking so relaxed and peaceful as if he hadn't ever felt any pain before. It would be all of her dreams came through, living with Gajeel, just the two of them and Lily in his little country house. However, it was all far too soon, all far too abrupt.

"Gajeel…"

She heard him make a noise in his throat, indicating that he was listening and she could carry on with her idea. She couldn't stand to break his heart.

"I love you more than I could ever explain, but don't you think that we need to leave it a little longer before we move in together?"

To her surprise, his facial expression didn't change at all. He simply nodded and sighed.

"I suppose you're right. But what do you say that we go out and buy some more clothes tomorrow, just for when you stay here, and I can start working on the extra room for your books. We can get you a desk, too, so you can work on your new translation stuff here."

She smiled; he was starting to actually think through his idea. It was something that she wanted eventually, definitely, but it was going to be a much better plan when they look through it in the light of the day.

"Hey, Shrimp?"

She nodded into his chest, knowing that he was paying attention to everything that she did.

"Where did you get those handcuffs from? I never thought that you would be into all of that kinky shit."

Levy blushed, suddenly thankful that his eyes were still closed to the world. She started to mumble into his chest before finally mustering the courage to speak out loud to him.

"Lisanna suggested that it might help with the Dragon problem. She lent them to me because she needs to use them with Bickslow."

As she was explaining, she started to hear a crunch from above her head and noticed that Gajeel was holding the cuffs in his hands and eating through the chain.

"Gajeel! I borrowed those!"

He shrugged as he chewed another one of the links, speaking even though his mouth was full.

"I'll buy her a new pair. I'll buy us a chained pair as well if you want."

Levy puffed her cheeks out in annoyance, before moving on to her next point.

"Well, it's anti-magic. Who knows what it's going to do to your insides, Gajeel!"

He finished eating the remainder of the chain, before tapping the round metal of the cuffs.

"The magic-blocking properties are in the wrist bits, not the chain. This way I can put them on" The metal clinked as he pushed the first cuff tightly around his left wrist before moving onto the other "and have full control of my arms."

Without warning, he pushed Levy onto her back, and she could see that his eyes were now sparkling brightly and he was wide-awake. She smiled at his renewed interest in her and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"You promised me that we could go gently, Shrimp. I hope that you're gonna keep your promise."

She smiled at him, bringing her head up to kiss his lips softly. It really did sound nice to finally make love to Gajeel, instead of purely fucking him. His forearms rested either side of her head, and he held the rest of his weight up with his knees. They were both still naked, and she could feel him starting to get aroused again and it sent shivers down her spine.

This time, it was so different to every time they had been together before. Every touch was so slow and gentle, and time seemed to slow down. In that moment, Gajeel knew nothing but Levy, and Levy knew nothing but Gajeel. The world could come crashing down around them, and neither of them would care. The moment was perfect, and they never wished to part.


	23. Chapter 23

Levy woke up to the smell of bacon wafting up from downstairs, the sun outside telling her that it was late into the morning. She groaned as she made to roll out of bed until she heard Gajeel shouting up to her from what she guessed was the kitchen.

"Stay in bed, Shrimp! I'm bringing some food up for you!"

She grinned to herself, before adjusting Gajeel's pillows to she could sit up in bed and pulling the blankets around her. She was still naked, and now Gajeel wasn't with her to keep her warm she realised that it was slightly chilly in there. She leant over to his desk to grab one of his Draconic books to set about learning more of the language.

It was a difficult language to master, and she knew that it was going to be a couple of months before she was going to be able to translate it or speak it fluently. She grinned at the messy handwriting that Gajeel had written when he was younger when he was trying to learn Fiorian, almost as difficult to read as the normal Draconic. It wasn't long before she could hear the heavy steps of Gajeel making his way up the stairs, slower than normal as she realised that he must be carrying something as he did. She looked up as he walked into the room, balancing a huge tray on his arms as he did. As soon as he saw her he cracked her one of his winning smiles, the one that he reserved just for her, and walked over to the bed.

She could see the tray piled high with bacon sandwiches, with a large teapot sat on the side with a mismatched cup and saucer. Gajeel balanced it on the side table, before getting into bed alongside Levy, fully clothed and shuffling over to her before grabbing the tray and resting it on his lap. Levy put her book back onto Gajeel's desk before picking up a sandwich and tucking into it.

"Gajeel, this is really good!"

He smiled at her as she wiped her face with one of the napkins he had brought up, before pouring her some tea. He had found the stash that Lily kept almost as soon as he found it, but never needed to use it until now. Grabbing a sandwich for himself, he ate as they sat in silence just enjoying the food he had made for them moments before.

"Did you still want to go shopping today, Lev?"

Levy swallowed her latest bite of sandwich, nodding as she did.

"If we could, that would be great. I really need to get some reference books if I am going to do all of that translation work for Lin."

Gajeel nodded, picking up his fifth sandwich and tucking into it. There were a couple of things that he wanted to get, anyway, so he couldn't complain about going along with her into the town. She leaned back so she rested against the headboard, before smiling to herself.

"I'm gonna have to head back over to Fairy Hills, need to get some clothes instead of having to wear your shirts all the time."

Gajeel smiled. He really didn't mind if she kept wearing his shirts if he was honest he looked fucking hot in them. But if she wanted to go back over to Fairy Hills, he would go with her. But first, he needed to wash up all of the dishes they had used for breakfast.

It was just past noon as they walked through the streets of Magnolia, and Levy was glad that they had eaten such a large breakfast. The town was quieter than usual, but still had people walking through each of the streets and they could hear people whispering as they walked down the pavement hand in hand. They were well known throughout the town, and if there was something that Magnolia loved, it was most definitely gossip.

Levy disappeared almost straight away into the dark of one of her favourite bookshops, with Gajeel making his excuses and heading off down a side street, saying that he had to do something and that he would meet her there later. She looked down at the list of possible languages she had written, and set about to looking around the shelves.

The books were very specialised and thus pretty expensive, but she had the money and it would be a really good investment anyway. This would really open up the amount of translation jobs that she could do in the future. She grabbed a couple more books that interested her, more out of a gift for herself than anything else. She had been learning how to write runes with Freed, and she had gotten to the point where she really needed more complex books to work from. She had already had a fair pile of books she needed to buy from the shop owner, who had greeted her excitedly when she walked in when Gajeel snuck up behind her. She jumped a little when he wrapped his arms around her, but soon settled into his arms.

"Hey, Gajeel, there was something that I wanted you to take a look at," she picked up a book, and showed him, revealing a spine that had nearly fallen apart and scrawled writing which had once been inlaid with gold leaf. "It was in the pile of used books that had come in, and I thought it looked like Draconic."

Gajeel picked it up and stared at the heavy bound book. She had been right, it was draconic, and even better it was a book that he had never seen before. He took it over to the counter, and the elder man behind it offered it to him almost for free.

"No one can read it anyway, may as well have it."

Levy came over to the counter then, with a trolley full of books that she almost struggled to push. Gajeel stood to the side as she debated and haggled with the old man, and Gajeel noticed that she had managed to get quite a discount at the end. She had even managed to arrange to get them delivered to his house, rather than having to carry them back alone. Finally, she handed over a portion of money that Gajeel couldn't quite see, before turning around and pulling him into the street. He had a feeling that she wasn't finished yet.

ajeel pulled Levy closer to his side as they walked down the street. They were in more of the back streets of Magnolia, where the more specialised shops were situated. Levy had a look around a few other book shops but admitted to Gajeel it was just for fun rather than her actual work. Gajeel didn't care, she deserved it after all. He looked through a couple of books while she was busy with her own reading, but he didn't see anything that caught his eye. After arranging another delivery of books to Fairy Hills this time, they exited the last shop and made their way further into the centre of town.

It was in a little back alley where Levy pulled Gajeel across to a small studio set into an old house and looked through the window. The place was dark and more than a little grungy, somewhere that Gajeel would have associated more with a club than a piercing studio. Levy studied the rings and bars that they had on offer before looking at the price list for the piercings that they offered.

"Oh, Gajeel, you don't know how tempted I am to go and get my belly button pierced. I've wanted one for ages, what do you think?"

Gajeel came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest as he did. He bent down to whisper into her ear, revelling in the small shiver that he felt shoot through her body.

"You know; I could do that for you. It won't hurt, I promise."

Levy turned around in his arms, reaching up onto her tiptoes in order to kiss him on the forehead as he tightened his arms around her back in order to help her balance. There was nothing that she would love more than to have him do it for her, and it excited her to know that he would be willing to do it. Bouncing back down until she had her feet firmly placed on the floor, she grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the centre of town. She still needed to get a few more things.

It was much later on in the day when they sat at Gajeel's house, both utterly exhausted. Levy was never one for shopping, and Gajeel even less so. He had insisted on buying her some more clothes to keep at his house, especially if she was going to make a habit out of staying there from time to time. It hadn't passed her by that they were much darker than what she usually went for, but she didn't mention it. It was obviously something that he was going to enjoy her wearing. She had offered to put them away in his wardrobe, but he waved her off and said that they would do it after eating dinner together. That was how she ended up sitting at his table while he cooked a steak for her, trying hard not to giggle at the apron he was wearing tied tightly around his waist. He had threatened her with a fate worse than death if she ever told anyone about it.

The steak was just being served up when the doorbell rang for the first time, and Gajeel motioned for her to stay seated as he went to the door and conversed quietly with the merchant stood outside. When he returned, he sat back down at the table and started to tuck into his meat in front of him.

"Were those my books, Gajeel?"

He shook his head but didn't elaborate at all. Levy questioned him a few times, poking and prodding for him for any clue as to what had been delivered but he simply steered the conversation to the plans for the next day.

"I kind of want to go to the guildhall, and do some translation there. A couple of the books I donated to the library could be useful to the work I'm doing."

Gajeel grinned, he could do with picking up some work while he was there as well. It was a while since he had been able to truly beat someone up, and while Lily wasn't there it would be the perfect to get a slightly more challenging job to really stretch his muscles. It would only be a short one-day job, of course, he wanted to get the most of having the house to his own without Lily bothering him after all.

Another ring on the doorbell and Gajeel shoved the last bit of steak in his mouth before jumping up to answer it. This time, he spent a bit longer carrying the delivery in and Levy wondered if she should go and help before he stumbled back into the room and started to clean up the dishes that she had just finished with.

"I can't believe one person could order so many books, Shrimp. How many languages did the guy write in?"

Levy giggled, hiding her face in her hands as she tried to ignore the expression of mild annoyance on Gajeel's face as he pottered about the kitchen. While he was distracted she decided to go and check on all of her books and found them piled on top of huge boxes of furniture.

"Gajeel, why have you bought more furniture?!"

She heard him swear before he joined her in the hallway. He hadn't even noticed she had disappeared from the kitchen; she was sneaky like that. He leant against one of the boxes and looked at her in slightly less mild annoyance this time.

"Well, I can't have you stealing my desk all of the time, could I? And no offence, but I am not sharing my manly wardrobe with your silly clothes."

Levy giggled, amazed that he had actually thought to do something like that for her. There was only one problem. Putting the damn things together.

Levy stared at the mess of parts on the floor in front of her and studied the instructions that had come with them to try and make sense of it all. She had offered to put together a bookshelf that Gajeel had sworn was for himself and some books that he was thinking of getting, but Levy was more than slightly suspect at the fact he had bought two of them just for himself.

Gajeel was off to the side, working on the wardrobe now he had already finished the desk. He had pushed it in the space next to his, and Levy was staring at it lovingly. She would much rather be sat there starting on her translation work than trying to work this out. How was Gajeel doing this without reading the instructions at all?

"How are you doing, Short Stuff?"

Levy sighed before slamming her face into the instructions. Gajeel had already figured out that she was really having issues with the construction in front of her and thought that he could help her out. He gently took her face in his hands, tilting it up until their foreheads were touching and they were staring into each other eyes. He threw the instructions she was still holding onto the floor, and slowly lay Levy back until she was lying on the bed with him on top of her, kissing her slowly before resting himself in between her legs.

He slowly kissed down her neck, making his way down to her collarbone and biting it lightly. She batted at him lazily, not wanting him to stop and yet silently telling him not to leave any marks on her this time. She was nearly running out of the potion that Cana had lent to her, and was far too embarrassed to go and buy herself some more. He lay off slightly before moving further down, pulling her tank top down as he did. She busied herself with wrapping her fingers through his hair, tugging lightly at the strands and feeling him moan against her skin.

He pulled her up roughly, taking her weight off the bed so he was able to remove her top, and her bra fell away almost immediately afterwards. He leant back down again, alternating between licking her nipple and biting it as gently as he could. Levy writhed underneath him, groaning at the attention his mouth was giving her as she scraped her nails across his scalp and curved her back into him.

"Gajeel…"

He grinned against her flesh and moved his hand up to play with her free nipple to give it the same attention as the one he was attending to with her mouth. Her moaning grew louder, and he began to get faster and rougher with his movements. The noises coming from her mouth urged him on, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold his dragon down for much longer. With a moan of annoyance he rolled off her, and headed over to his own desk to pick up the cuffs that had been left there earlier in the morning. Levy turned over in the bed and looked up at him as he clipped them onto his wrists.

"Gajeel, did you mean what you said about piercing my belly button earlier?"

Gajeel looked down at her face, she was slightly out of breath from what he had been doing to her just moments before and her hair was wild and untamed. She was the pure definition of beautiful.

He had pierced a few people before and was getting quite good at it now. He wouldn't have ever dreamed of offering to pierce her if he hadn't been absolutely sure that he would hurt her less than if she had it done at any of the studios in the town. He smiled down at her, holding up one finger to tell her to hold on while he went downstairs.

While Gajeel was gone, Levy rearranged all of the instructions that she had been reading, before adjusting herself more comfortably on the bed. She breathed deeply to calm herself down from the nerves that had been wracking her since he had suggested piercing her himself before.

He walked back in, holding some ice in one hand and a sugary drink in the other. He handed her the drink, sitting next to her on the bed and holding her hand in his.

"Ready, Shrimp?"

Levy nodded her head before Gajeel pressed two ice cubes to her skin where the needle would enter and exit. Levy chewed on her nails on the other hand, somehow more nervous now than she was for the first piercing she had gotten. She squirmed slightly at the cold ice against her skin, before giggling.

"This must be what Juvia feels like, but all the time."

Gajeel sighed, removing the ice from her skin before adjusting himself so he was closer to her stomach than before.

"Levy, please. Juvia is like my little sister, I do not want to imagine her having sex."

Halfway through the sentence, Gajeel pushed a needle that he had made out of his finger through Levy's numbed flesh, making her gasp. She hadn't been expecting it, and it made it somehow better. She clenched her eyes shut, not looking up at all as Gajeel moulded the iron between his fingers to create two little balls either end.

Levy grabbed her drink from off the side and started to drink it down, trying to get rid of the faint feeling that had taken over her head. She felt Gajeel move up beside her, before stroking her hair until she opened up her eyes again. She stared up into his crimson irises and grinned.

"It's gonna be sore for a while, Shrimp, so you don't wanna put any pressure on it."

Levy nodded, she had gone through the same spiel when she had her nipple pierced a few months previously.

"You know what that means, Shrimp?"

Levy shook her head, before Gajeel grabbed onto her hips, pulling her on top of him until she was straddling his waist and he held her sides still.

"It means you're gonna be on top for a while."


	24. Chapter 24

Levy sat in the corner of the library in the guild, surrounded by both books that she could find in the library and ones that she almost forced Gajeel to carry to the guild for her. Most of the papers that Lin had provided her with were stacked around her, in stacks which made perfect sense to her but would seem completely random to anyone else.

Freed was sat across the library from Levy, submerged in his own research as Levy was submerged in hers. They didn't speak apart from a quick meeting and the occasional request for help. The help mainly came from Levy, as even Freed admitted she had a far better knowledge of a far wider range of languages. Freed was sat researching some more rune traps, he didn't dare concede that he was more than a little worried at how easily Levy had beaten him in the game of Truth or Dare a few evenings before.

The research that Lin's father (who Levy soon discovered was called Yu) had been conducting ranged between collecting data on magical parents and the children they produced. The research really was interesting, and Levy found herself wondering what kind of magic the children of various couples in the guild would have.

Asuka was already showing the tendency for guns magic that Bisca and Alsack had, and according to Yu, if two parents with the same magic had a child, then the vast majority of the time the child would share that magical power, to a higher strength than both of their parents. She was certainly set up to become a very powerful guns magician.

Eye magic also seemed to be dominant, and Yu observed that in every single case where at least one parent had secondary magic in their eyes, the child would develop that magic. In the one case where both parents possessed magical powers in their eyes, the child developed one of the magics in each eye although he did admit that it was far too rare for him to be able to say anything with any certainty.

Levy looked up for a second to ask Freed about his parents, and he was nice enough to actually answer for her. He mentioned that although he didn't remember much of his parents, he knew that his father always wore an eyepatch over his right eye and he assumed that it was due to him having the same power as him. It was always odd to talk about people's parents, as the majority of the guild were orphans, but whenever they did Levy always learned something new.

Takeover powers also seemed to run strongly in families, as was evidenced perfectly by the guilds very own takeover siblings. Out of all of the parents that Yu researched, once again each of them that had Takeover magic had passed it on to their children without fail. Levy smiled to herself, imagining the children from between the Strauss siblings and the Raijinshuu, and knowing what a handful that they would be. Levy had never known Bickslow as a child, but she had always assumed that he would have been more than a slight handful. After all, with all of his magic, there was no way that his parents would have been able to tell him off about anything.

Something that interested her more than anything else was some mention of magic skipping a generation and being passed down to a grandchild instead of the direct child of a wizard. Levy nearly held her head in her hands imagining a child of Cana and Bacchus with Gildarts' magic. She hoped beyond all hope that the child would at least be able to control the magic more than Gildarts' could as an adult, otherwise the guild would have a lot more things to worry about.

Any child that Gray and Juvia may have had was intriguing to her as well. Although there had been mention of the children of Ice wizards taking to that power easier, due to the natural ability of them to stand up to the cold, Levy still had no idea just what Juvia was. As far as she knew, the majority of water wizards were not actually made of water, and even Gajeel had mentioned once that Juvia wasn't actually human. It had been at the back of Levy's head for quite a while, but she had never thought of bringing it up with Juvia for the pure reason that she did not want to seem rude. Well, that and the fact that she would have to admit to the Rain Woman that she had been considering the fact that she and Gray could have had babies, which was never a good tangent to get her onto.

Skimming through the papers that Yu had written, she could not find any mention of what would happen if a Dragon Slayer had a child, and whether the magic that they received would class as that of a Dragon Slayer as well. She wasn't all that surprised, seeing as none of the Dragon Slayers she had ever met had conceived children, at least to her knowledge anyway, and she hadn't really heard of any others before that. Not even Yu would have been able to predict what would happen with such a rare form of magic. Maybe it would just have to be a surprise when she and Gajeel had children…

Levy shook her head. She had been in a (sort of) relationship with Gajeel for less than a week, and already she was thinking of children with him? That just wasn't right. In fact, it was getting to Juvia levels of creepy. She looked around her at all the papers, in various different languages. The library in the guild had no windows, what with being situated under the ground, and the only clock that hung on the walls had run out of power a long time ago and never been replaced, what with all of the drama that had been occurring around the guild recently. Levy was glad that at least it was starting to quiet down now.

She stretched and moaned slightly, just how long had she been down her. Freed looked up at her and gave her a sympathetic smile. He knew more than anyone else how much just sat reading books could take it out of someone. He stood as well, before walking over to Levy and holding out his hand.

"Come on, we should go and get some food. Gajeel would kill me if I let you starve to death."

Levy looked at him suspiciously, he had never been that bothered about her before. It started to dawn on her that in the past few weeks Freed had been spending less and less time in the library, and more and more time up in the main part of the guild with Mirajane. She accepted his hand but narrowed her eyes as soon as she stood up.

"Did Gajeel tell you to keep an eye on me?"

The green haired man didn't say a thing, but simply started moving to the bottom of the stairs as if he was avoiding answering the question. It really wouldn't surprise Levy if Gajeel had asked, or threatened, the Rune mage to keep an eye on her and she sighed. It wasn't as if she had made it this long without people constantly reminding her that eating was a thing.

The two of them were halfway up the stairs when a streak of white came barrelling down towards them, smashing into Levy and causing Freed to catch both women before they ended up on the floor. Levy composed herself for a second, before looking up to see Lisanna stood in front of her.

She was dressed almost sloppily, clothes hanging off her that looked far too big for her. It took Levy a second to realise that they were Bickslow's clothes, not hers. Her hair hadn't been brushed and stuck up in funny angles from her head, and her eyes were red-rimmed as if she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Either that or she had been crying.

"Whoa, Lisanna, slow down. Are you alright?"

Freed was still half holding her up, and as he asked the question Lisanna's knees gave way and he had to move quickly to grab her before she fell entirely. Sobs began to wrack her body, and Levy looked over to Freed in confusion. Something had obviously happened, and it wasn't looking good. If Bickslow had done anything to her… well, Levy almost pitied him. She certainly didn't want to be at the other end of Mira and Elfman's fury.

It was only a few minutes later when the three of them were sat around a table upstairs in the guildhall, joined by Mirajane who had taken her break from the bar early to join them. Mira was already nearly crying at the fact that she hadn't noticed Lisanna running past a few minutes ago. Freed had grabbed a couple of water for Lisanna to try and get her to calm down, and at this moment, it was working. Levy sat off to the side, almost awkwardly and not knowing whether she should still be here, or whether she was helping at all. She never wanted to admit it, but she also really wanted to know what was going on and was more than a little intrigued as to what had happened to Lisanna to put her in this state. She was happy that it was just after lunch time, though, meaning that the majority of the guild members weren't yet in the guild hall and thus leaving them alone.

"Lisanna, what is going on?"

Mira was clutching onto Lisanna's hand, using the back of her thumb to rub circles onto the back of it. She looked more concerned than Freed had ever seen before, and he held her spare hand to let her know that he was there to help out if needed.

The younger Strauss sibling took a few drinks out of her water and breathed in and out deeply to try and get herself back together in order to explain what was going on.

"Something's happened to Bickslow."

Mira and Freed looked at each other, and Freed pleaded to Mira with his eyes not to immediately go and find the Sieth mage and make him regret all of his life decisions. Levy leant over, knowing what was happening between the two other members of the comforting group. She leant forward, making eye contact with the girl in front of her.

"What's happened? Start from the beginning so we can see how we can help?"

Lisanna took a few breaths in and out, and Mira looked over to Levy to thank her for keeping a level head in helping out her sister.

"He went out on a job yesterday morning and easy job. It was a simple exorcism, one that he has done a million times before he told me, and he said he would be back before lunchtime."

"Maybe he just went on a different job on the way back, you should know that he has the worst attention span out of anyone in Earthland."

Freed tried to make her feel better, but Lisanna shook her head and shouted at the Rune mage sat next to her.

"No, Freed, you don't get it!"

Freed jumped backwards at the force at which Lisanna shouted at him, before deciding that he was probably best not winding her up more than she already was.

"He didn't take any of his totems with him. He said he didn't need them, and that it would be easier if they weren't there distracting him. He asked me to babysit them."

Freed nodded, knowing how much Bickslow hated forcing his "babies" to fall asleep, but also knowing how difficult they were to look after when Bickslow wasn't there.

"Oh, so did they drive you up the wall, force you to shout at them and Bickslow got mad at you?"

Lisanna looked over at him, took a single breath before dropping her voice.

"Freed, if you don't shut the fuck up with your assumptions, you will never assume anything again."

Levy was taken aback by the way Lisanna's voice mirrored her older sisters and was suddenly very glad that she hadn't got on her bad side. She shot a glare at the Rune mage, while encouraging Lisanna to carry on.

"Carry on, Lisanna. We need to know what happened. Freed won't interrupt you again."

"I had a good time with them, we were playing around for a bit before they got worried that Bickslow hadn't returned. I guessed that he had gone somewhere else, but I started to get worried when night fell and he still hadn't returned.

"The babies were getting more and more restless, and I stayed up all night trying to calm them down. Until about 30 minutes ago, when they just dropped where they were and stopped moving. Which means…"

Lisanna once again burst into tears, and Freed broke his vow of silence in order to finish her sentence for her.

"Which means Bickslow has been taken out."


	25. Chapter 25

Gajeel got back to the guild to find it almost empty. He was already in a foul mood from the ridiculous ease of the job that he had just got back from, and the fact that the guildhall was empty of everyone apart from the Strauss siblings sat in the corner. Looking closer he could see the two older siblings were comforting Lisanna, who looked like she had been crying a lot, and recently too. He could smell the scents of almost everyone in the guild, they had been here recently. It was definitely odd, this time of the day the hall was usually a bustling hive of activity which Gajeel would have had to fight through in order to make even the smallest headway.

He looked around to try and find the specific head of blue hair that he was looking for, and spotted it quickly in the corner of the room. He made his way across the floor to her as she was drawing in the air with her light pen. He sat for a second, watching as she pulled together various bits of information from various pieces of paper in front of her and collated them all on the board.

"Are you ok, Shrimp? What's going on?"

Levy jumped at his voice and turned around to look him in the face. She didn't even miss a beat before she had run over to him, holding him tightly in her arms. Gajeel returned the gesture before pushing her back to arm's length to look into her eyes.

"Shrimp? What's the matter?"

Levy sighed, looking into Gajeel's eyes thankful that it wasn't him that had gone missing. The whole time she was trying to find a lead on what could have happened to Bickslow, she was gaining more and more restless that he wasn't going to return either. She breathed a sigh of relief now that he was actually in front of her.

"Bickslow's disappeared. He went on a simple job, was MIA for about 12 hours and then we know that he was taken out."

Gajeel looked over the board that Levy had been producing, and it was a wide collection of information.

In one corner was a very simple timeline, spanning around 18 hours up until the present time. At the very beginning was him leaving his apartment that he was sharing with Freed, followed fifteen minutes later by the last time anyone had seen him. Alzack and Bisca both said that he had started to play with Asuka for a while on his way to the job, but only stayed for about ten minutes. Levy had made a small note underneath it that where they had met was on the fastest route to where Bickslow was supposed to complete the job, so that wasn't out of the ordinary.

The last entry on the timeline was only a few hours before, where Levy had written that Bickslow had been knocked unconscious by some unknown force. Gajeel swore inwardly to himself. He would never admit it to the guys face, but Bickslow was pretty powerful. It would take a strong enemy in order to knock him out, especially taking his possession magic into consideration. Whoever it was must have got him by surprise, something that he relayed to Levy.

The bluenette sucked on her pen, obviously thinking over what Gajeel had just said, before noting it onto the board under a section she had labelled "ideas". Amongst some of the ideas on there, she had written the possibility that Bickslow had merely fallen over and knocked himself out, or he was the victim of his own aerial acrobatics. Beside each one she had scribbled the fors and againsts of each idea, and Gajeel could plainly see that during the current time no one really had a good plan of just what had happened to the Sieth mage.

The rest of the board was made up of what various teams were out doing, starting with Laxus, Freed and Evergreen going to meet the client who had put up the job which Bickslow had headed out to complete. The remainder of the guild were all split into teams of two or three, and out searching the town of Magnolia in a very clear search strategy that Levy had drawn up. He smiled slightly at the way his girlfriend was a genius with strategy, but he didn't want to make it look like he was enjoying it too much. There was one of the guild missing, after all.

Gajeel had begun to take a liking to Bickslow recently, he was a good guy after you looked through all the weirdness that everyone else saw. He wasn't lying when he had told Levy that the Sieth mage was powerful. It would have to be an extremely clever enemy to get past the guys figure eyes after all. Gajeel reviewed the flyer for the last job that he had been on. What Levy had said had been true, it was really simple. It didn't even ask for Bickslow in particular, something that would have been a major flag if it was a trap to capture him in particular. Although, saying that almost everyone on the continent knew that Bickslow was the only person in Fairy Tail capable of taking the job.

Gajeel rested his head on the table. At what point had he become so worried about members of the guild? Since the Grand Magic Games, his feelings of being a part of the guild had increased almost exponentially but had never been this sick with worry before, not over anyone apart from Levy at any case. Sure, he was good at tactics when it came to being in a one on one fight with an opponent, or even when he was fighting as part of a group, but this kind of search tactics was never his strong point. That was far more Levy's area of expertise, and it just made his head hurt. He just hoped that he would be able to help out when it actually came to beating someone up.

He stood up from his table and made his way over to the bar. He knew Levy well enough to know that when she was focused on her work she wouldn't ever take a break and everyone else in the guild were too busy to bring her any food or drink. He made his way back to the kitchen and threw together a quick sandwich. Levy wouldn't pay attention to the taste of the food, she would just want something that she could eat without having to divert any attention to it. He rested it on the bar to try and grab a drink when Laxus burst into the guild followed by his remaining two bodyguards.

They made their way over to Levy without taking any notice of the Strauss siblings who immediately looked up to them. Evergreen looked as if she had been crying, which was more than a little odd. Gajeel had never seen the brunette cry before, although he supposed that out of everyone in the guild, she was one of the closest to Bickslow. The news did not look like it was going to be good. He grabbed another six glasses and tried to remember everyone's poison. The Strauss siblings had made their way over to the table where Levy was busy writing up as much information as she could. He finished pouring the drinks, before putting them on a tray and walking over to join everyone else.

"… said that he just performed the exorcism and left. Guy was fucking ancient as well so wouldn't have stood a chance against Bicks, even without his possession magic"

Laxus nodded to Gajeel as he gave him his drink, before carrying on with his explanation."

"He also said he wasn't acting strangely, was just very formal and professional. Took his payment and left in the direction of the guild. I don't think that there's any more information that we can get from him."

Levy was busy writing down all of the information that Laxus was giving her, while wolfing down Gajeel's sandwich. After all the information had been written down and sorted out, she tapped her pen against her chin and observed all of the information that she could see in front of her. Elfman had abandoned Lisanna and was starting to comfort Evergreen who was now starting to sniff quietly. Levy swallowed her mouthful of food, before turning around to confront the guild members in front of her.

"Right, I guess that the best bet is to carry on searching for clues. Laxus and Freed, go and find Cana and Bacchus in the south-east. Send Cana back here, we could use her magic to try and find Bickslow that way."

The two men nodded, and without any further debating, they turned around and left the guild.

The room was silent, no one wanting to speak. Levy continued to pour over the information in front of her, trying to form links which may help them in their search. Lisanna and Mira were hugging, and Elfman had offered to walk Evergreen home for a rest. Gajeel was feeling utterly useless, apart from grabbing the occasional drink, he wasn't helping out at all. Finally, and out of nowhere, Lisanna spoke for the first time since he had got back.

"I can't deal with this sitting around and doing nothing. Mira, let's go and make some food. We'll need to keep the search parties fuelled if this keeps going on much longer, and I need something to take my mind off the situation."

That's how the rest of the evening went. Cana had returned, and started getting to work with her cards, working over them without even looking at anyone else. She must have been eating, because the food was disappearing off of her plate while Gajeel wasn't looking. Various teams came back from searching, reporting to Levy that they had found nothing before eating a meal and heading back off. The Strauss sisters were making much more food than could ever be eaten, but Gajeel knew that it was possibly the only thing keeping Lisanna sane.

The sun had long set before he built up the courage to go back into the kitchen, taking a deep breath before braving the two highly strung Takeover Mages.

"Hey, girls. Go home and get some sleep. Me and Levy will hold the fort down until tomorrow. I'll make sure that everyone stays fed and watered, ok?"

He could see the hesitation in Lisanna's eyes before Mira took a hold of her arm gently and led her out of the kitchen into the main guild hall. They muttered their goodbyes to the few mages in the hall before heading off home. Gajeel stayed true to his word. Sort of.

He put some of the food that they had made out onto the table before writing a note in his scrawled handwriting telling people to help themselves, or face the wrath of both himself and Mira, before making his way back over to Levy.

The rest of the night they spent taking shifts. Levy would refuse to get a whole night's sleep, instead, Gajeel had to convince her to get quick naps while he took over the information gathering. He was pretty useless at drawing links between the information coming in, but he was able to note it down so it was available for her when she woke up. It was a pretty good system, even if he did say it himself.

It was just after dawn when he went to wake Levy up with a cup of coffee, ready to face the day. He didn't want to admit it, but he was starting to get overwhelmed by all of the teams coming in to report information. There had been a couple of sightings of Bickslow after he had left his job, but not much.

Levy had just set down to try and update the map with where Bickslow had been seen, downing the strong coffee that Gajeel had brought her when Mira ran in like a whirlwind.

She barely made it over to the table where Levy was sitting before her knees gave out, forcing Vijeeter to grab her from where he had been sitting. Everyone rushed over to her, even Cana looked up from her cards (which had admittedly been frustrating her) in order to see what was going on.

"Mira! Are you alright?"

Makarov shouted from where he had been sat on the bar, trying to work out the best course of action. The take-over mage looked up, tears starting to fall from her eyes in thick streams as she did.

"It's Lisanna. She's gone."


	26. Chapter 26

“She came to bed with me last night, pretty much as soon as we got back. She wanted to sleep in my bed so she wasn’t alone. I woke up this morning and she was just… gone. Her clothes were still laying on the bed, and I couldn’t find her anywhere. She didn’t scream, she didn’t even make a noise. I couldn’t do a fucking thing to help her.”  
Mira was sat surrounded by guild members, her face streaked with tears. Gray had brought her some cold water before backing away. He had seen Mira go over the edge from emotion too many times before, and he didn’t want to be anywhere near her when she went off. Juvia and Cana were holding her hand on either side, while simultaneously rubbing circles on her back trying to calm her down.  
Levy was busy scribbling down all the information she could from Mira’s story, starting to extend her works to a new board to focus on Lisanna and Lisanna alone. Her brain was whirring with the possibilities, but she couldn’t think of anything that could be happening to make guild members just… disappear. Her hand was moving fast as she got as many details from Mira’s story as she could, from when Lisanna was last seen to any theories that were coming up.  
Gajeel had been sent to find Elfman, who hadn’t been seen after comforting Evergreen the night before, and Levy was starting to worry about him already. She had no idea what was going on, something that was nagging at her. Any one of them could disappear at any moment, and at this moment, there was nothing that she could do about it.

It was about half an hour later when Laxus, Freed, and Bacchus arrived in the guild hall, the latter uncharacteristically sober and quiet. Laxus made his way over to Levy’s table, before dropping a bundle of clothes on the table. Everyone knew what it was without even looking.  
“He was in a bookstore, buying some books on basic Takeover magic. The shopkeeper said he went to the back to get the ones that he had and when he came back there was nothing but his clothes left. He estimated 2pm yesterday.”  
Levy couldn’t even start to write down the extra information as she was joining everyone else in just staring at the clothes in front of her. It was surreal. There was no way that this was actually happening. Once again she wished Gajeel was there with her, even if it wouldn’t help in the slightest. She also started to worry about Jet, Droy, and Pantherlily. They weren’t due back from their job for at least another three days, but they could have gone missing even before Bickslow and she would never know. She shook her head. She needed to concentrate and collate all the information that she was being given.  
Turning around, she added the added information about Bickslow to the timeline. At least now they had a solid time as to when he disappeared, and his magic went exactly twenty-four hours later. Looking at the timeline, it was then between eight and sixteen hours when Lisanna disappeared.  
That still left an entire day between his disappearance and his magic running out. What on Earthland had he been doing in that time? Where was he that he couldn’t use his figure eyes to get him out of the situation?  
Levy wracked her brains, writing down her thoughts as she did. What she wouldn’t give to be able to consult the first master on this, even Makarov was away on council business. She felt like the entire guild was looking at her, and she had no idea what to do. Finally, she turned around and addressed everyone in the guild hall.  
“So far, no one has actually seen someone else go missing. I suggest from here on in that no one goes anywhere on their own. Stick together.”  
She looked around, waiting for anyone to resist, but no one did. Everyone in the guild was scared, you could feel it hanging in the air. Everyone almost subconsciously gravitated towards a partner, and you could see those without a set partner starting to look around for who to choose as their partner.  
Erza walked over to Levy, before gently taking her over to the side while the guild buzzed around in a mixture of worry and pure unbridled fear. She spoke in a hushed tone, not wanting anyone to overhear her worries.  
“You know that being with someone else isn’t going to help? Lisanna was lying next to Mirajane and she still disappeared. Why are you asking them to pair up?”  
Levy sighed. She knew that asking them to never be alone was pointless from a protection point of view, but she had asked it for a different reason. One that she had been hoping she wouldn’t have to explain.  
“Because so far we haven’t had any eyewitnesses to the disappearance. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will be lucky and not get anyone else going missing. But if people are together, maybe we can get an eye witness account of what happens.”  
Erza stayed silent, staring out over the guild. Levy knew that she was taking responsibility for this while the Master wasn’t there. Her fists were clenched up, and Levy could tell that her jaw was clenched tightly too.   
Levy slowly held her hand out, touching it to Erza’s shoulder. The redhead sighed, lowering her head before turning around to look at Levy directly. She didn’t even have time to think before Erza grabbed her into a hug, a rare show of affection from the S-Class mage.   
“Thank you for taking the lead on this. I wouldn’t know where to start. If you need me to do anything, anything at all, let me know.”  
Levy thought for a while, keeping Erza in the embrace that was obviously calming her down, even just a little bit. An idea had been running around her head, one that she wouldn’t be able to complete on her own but maybe with Erza helping…  
“Actually, Erza, would you be able to get the word out to some of the other guilds? See if the disappearances are affecting them?”  
Erza broke the embrace, suddenly all business again. Now she had something to do, she felt so much better about herself. She stormed off into the Masters office, wishing to do the job she had been given to the best of her ability.  
Levy simply returned to her board, starting to draw parallels between the two disappearances and writing as many details as she could about the both of them. Even if none of the other guilds had any members disappearing, she would never complain about the extra pairs of eyes helping her out.


	27. Chapter 27

The roar that echoed through the guild as Elfman entered the room was like something that they had never heard. His despair was somehow fiercer than even Mira's and barely allowed him to stand. Gajeel and Evergreen were struggling to support his mass between them as they led him into the guildhall and over to where Mira sat. The siblings embraced, and suddenly Levy was transported back to what seemed like decades ago when Lisanna died. She couldn't even comprehend what it felt to lose her all over again.

As soon as Elfman was safely in his sister's arms, Gajeel made his way over to Levy who gave him a quick rundown of all the decisions that had been made while he was gone. He had immediately spotted what only Erza had seen before, and Levy explained to him exactly what she had said to the requip mage. After their quick conversation, Levy returned to writing up their theories, and Gajeel to forcing her to occasionally eat.

It wasn't long before Erza returned from the Masters office, and dragged Levy off to the side. Gajeel's Dragon hearing kicked in, and he listened carefully to the conversation between them.

"I've got in contact with Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, Quattro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale and even Crime Sorciere. None of them have had any members go missing that they know of and they are sending out people to check on those on long-term missions. They also said that they are going to send people out to look for Bickslow and Lisanna as soon as possible."

Gajeel stared into his beer, pretending that he wasn't hearing what was going on. A quick glance over at Wendy showed that she was listening to the conversation too, and when they met eyes they tried to smile at each other meekly. The next voice that they heard was Levy's talking back to Erza, in even more hushed tones than before.

"Looking at the timeline, and assuming the same thing will happen to Lisanna that happened to Bickslow, we have less than 24 hours until Lisanna's magic runs out. I don't know if they're just depleted on power or if…"

Her sentence petered off, and the look on Wendy's face said it all. They didn't know whether their magic had run out because they had used too much, or because they had died. Gajeel tried to smile at her, tried to get the younger Dragon Slayer to feel better, but it wasn't working. She looked even more panicked than she had before.

He made his way over to sit next to her, and held her hand. Her little white exceed looked annoyed for a second, before deciding that she wasn't going to comment. They were all pretty scared right about now. With a squeeze of Wendy's palm, Gajeel looked up to see Levy making her way back to the front of her boards, before standing on a chair.

"Right, everyone! We need to double our efforts to find Bickslow and Lisanna. I want everyone out in groups of at least two or more. You are to report back here every two hours, or extended if I send you further afield. Anyone who isn't back within that time we will send out search parties for them, which will slow our search for those who really need it."

Everyone who was currently in the hall nodded before Levy continued.

"Come over to get your areas. I want every house knocked on, every pedestrian questioned. Leave no stone unturned!"

Everyone started to crowd Levy, but she kept her cool and started handing out assignments. Gajeel and Wendy stayed put, Gajeel waiting for an opportunity to go and talk to his woman and Wendy too terrified to move. It was only when Erza came over that they snapped out of their daydream.

"Dragons. I want you to go to the place that Bickslow was last seen in, and scout it out with your heightened senses. You have two hours. After that, you report back here, and then go to the Strauss residence."

Wendy nodded at the older woman, slightly taken aback by her straight to the point comments. Erza had somehow always been more… gentle with her than everyone else in the guild. Gajeel simply stood, adjusting his clothes and standing toe-to-toe with the requip mage.

"Is anyone staying here with Levy? Someone's gotta make sure that she's looking after herself."

Erza nodded, clasping Gajeel on the shoulder firmly. She had always known that that would be a worry for him.

"I am going to stay with her here, I am going to keep in touch with the other guilds. I will make sure that she eats don't you worry."

Her voice dropped down to a small whisper, just loud enough for the two Dragon Slayers standing right in front of her to hear.

"I want someone strong to protect the guild hall anyway. Not saying that Levy isn't strong but… It looks like whoever it is is targeting Fairy Tail."

Gajeel nodded in approval. The Shrimp wasn't weak in any sense of the word, but she was no Erza. Even Mirajane probably wasn't up to the fighting right now. He returned Erza's clasp on the shoulder, before turning round to take a worried looking Wendy by the hand. He put on the perkiest voice that he could muster, hoping beyond hope that he could at least cheer her up a little.

"Come on, Kid. Let's go ask Laxus where that shop is."

Gajeel walked with Wendy along the road to where Bickslow had disappeared, trying to decide whether to offer his hand for her to hold. She was still almost silent, only replying to all of his questions with one syllable words or grunts. Her hands clasped in front of her, and Gajeel could tell that she was trying not to wring them in worry.

Gajeel could deal with that silence. He could try and help the kid out, sure. What he couldn't deal with was the incessant chatter of her damned Cat.

She started out complaining at being lumped in with Gajeel, just because they were both Dragon Slayers didn't mean that they had the same skills. Gajeel had blocked it out until she took a step too far.

"I mean, if Levy is so clever and all, why didn't she think to send Dragon Slayers to find that creepy guy earlier."

She tried to take another step but found herself trapped to the ground by Iron Chains. Wendy instantly panicked, trying to pull the iron apart but to no avail. It was only when Gajeel noticed the younger slayer had gone to help her that he stopped walking and turned around. Crouching down so he was closer to Charle's height, he spoke in a voice that was more like a growl than anything else.

"I don't know why, but I am sure she had her fucking reasons. You don't speak ill of my woman, get it?"

Both girls looked up to Gajeel in fear, neither of them had known him from his Phantom Lord days but in that moment, they could definitely believe all the whispers that still echoed quietly around the guildhall.

Gajeel left a second for the message to sink in before the chains disappeared and he started walking again. The rest of the journey passed by in blissful silence.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N - I do not own Fairy Tail. This makes me sad.**

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The shop was small and mostly packed in, so much so that Gajeel had to stoop for the majority of the walk. He had been in here a few days before with Levy, and he could still smell her scent lightly on the air. Trying to block her scent from his nose, he searched for Bickslow's instead. It hit in an almost explosion near to one of the bookshelves, with only one path going in and out of the extreme concentration he had found. Unless Bickslow had retraced his steps exactly, he had disappeared from that spot.

"Woah, it really smells of Bickslow over here".

Wendy came around the corner of one of the bookshelves, the scent of Bickslow hitting her nose like a brick wall as she did. Gajeel nodded, leaning back against the bookshelf and searching through the scents in the shop for anyone who may be the culprit. The shop was relatively out of the way and specialist, so there weren't many scents that had been there the same time as Bickslow, but Gajeel couldn't see any that were out of place. He looked at Wendy, who was sniffing in the air to try and discern some kind of scent that would help them out.

"How about it, kid, smell anything out of place?"

She shook her head, her sense of smell being less than Gajeel's anyway. The man sighed, leaning back against a bookshelf and rubbing his temples. They had got here and learned absolutely nothing at all.

"There's an awful lot of magic energy here too, centered around the same place…"

Gajeel looked up at Wendy, who was standing in the middle of Bickslow's scent with her eyes closed. He had never been the most proficient at feeling magical energy, but he supposed that with Wendy's support magic that she would be better at it than him. He allowed his mind to concentrate, before feeling the strength of the energy sink in. It was like nothing that he had never felt at all, but Wendy appeared to still be learning from the energy that was surrounding her.

"It really reminds me of Doranbolt, you know? Along with someone else… Warren?"

Gajeel looked at her, amazed that she could even tell the type of magic that was being used along with the strength of the magic. It seemed strangely familiar to him, and it definitely wasn't Bickslow's magic either. Something raised a flag in the back of his head, but at this point, he could not figure out what it was. He waited until Wendy had opened her eyes again, before heading back to the entrance of the shop. It didn't seem that they would get anything more from that place anyway.

"Well, at least we got something to give to Levy. We might be able to smell something out of place at the Strauss residence, but for now, I think we should retrace his steps to see if we can give some more details for Levy. You coming, kid?"

Wendy ran up behind him and tried to keep pace as he strode along, following the scent that Bickslow had left behind him. He had stuck to the alleyways more than the main streets, which was a little strange but then Bickslow was a strange guy. He couldn't seem to go straight anywhere, jumping over obstacles in his way instead of going the sensible, and mostly easier path. After about ten minutes of walking, the small group came to a small house where Bickslow's scent pooled again.

"Reckon this was where he did that job? It seems like his scent is in there along with the owner of the house"

Wendy nodded, before standing and trying to detect magic again. Gajeel waited for her to do her thing, before listening as she spoke up.

"It's definitely Bickslow's magic in there. This is where he did his job." Gajeel nodded, before turning away to follow the rest of his scent. The guy had already been interrogated enough by better interrogators than him, so there was nothing more that he could get out of the poor man. Plus, he highly doubted he had been anything to do with the disappearance, his scent hadn't been anywhere near where Bickslow was last in existence.

"Come on, kid, let's keep moving. See if he went anywhere before he made it to the job."

The other path away from where Bickslow had done the job was just as erratic as the one that they had followed earlier, and much further. Gajeel and Wendy both walked in silence along the somewhat erratic path through increasingly poorer areas of Magnolia until they got to a rundown apartment building, where the trail ended.

"This must be Bickslow's place. So, nothing happened on the way to his job and on to the book shop."

Wendy shook her head in agreement, before looking across at a clock lacrima hanging from a shop nearby. She calculated quickly in her head how long it should take them to get back to the guild, before turning around to Gajeel and speaking up.

"We're gonna have to leave pretty soon if we want to make it back to the guild on time. You ready to go?"

Gajeel stared up at the apartment building in front of him, smelling the scent of fear that had come from Lisanna as she watched Bickslow's dolls drop, along with the very weak scent of the souls that he kept inside of them. He imagined what it would feel like to know that Levy had lost all of her magic, with all of the implications that came from it. It sent a chill down his spine, and he knew what he had to do. He had never been close with Bickslow, but he knew that his souls meant a lot to him and hoped that if things had turned, someone would look after the things that were close to him. Following the scent of the Sieth, he leaped up to grab onto the windowsill of what he knew to be Bickslow's apartment. Ignoring the shouts of the other Dragon Slayer and the Exceed below him, he examined the metal in the lock of the window, before picking it with ease.

Jumping down into the apartment, he could see that it was an absolute shambles. It was one main room, with a kitchen in one corner and the bed in the other. He didn't even have a sofa or a table. A door next to the kitchen led to what Gajeel assumed was the bathroom, and that was t. He made his way across the cluttered floor, trying hard not to step on anything important as he followed the scent trail to his goal.

He found what he was looking for in the only clean bit of the apartment, high up on a shelf which he had an inkling someone as short as Lisanna wouldn't be able to see. They were almost spherical bottles, with a slightly flattened bottom and a spout with a cork sticking up from the top. The five bottles were lined up in a row, and each swirled with a weird purple gas that smelt of each of the souls that Bickslow usually had holed up in his dolls. Up close like this, the scent was a lot stronger and for the first time, Gajeel could smell the difference between them. Picking them up gently, he cradled them in his arms as he made his way down the main stairs of the apartment block, and back to Wendy.

The girls were stood, still looking confused at where Gajeel had gone when he came out of the main door of the apartment building. He looked serious and passed Wendy two of the bottles and Charle one.

"Look after these. They're important. Let's head back to the guild."

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**A/N - So, you may have noticed that these chapters are getting shorter. That's because I am currently putting a lot of work into my original content novel, which I am trying to get finished after about three years of writing it. Yes. You read that right.**

**DON'T PANIC - I am still going to be updating this but the chapters are going to be a little shorter. I'm sorry, guys. I hope to finish the novel soon and then I will be back to longer chapters.**

**Also, holy balls. This is now 30 chapters and 100,000 words. That is insane. This is closing in on one of the longest stories I have ever written and it isn't even close to being finished. Thank you all for still being with me after all this time!**

**I have been getting such lovely reviews, thank you so much! Please keep them coming, they really do light up my world (like nobody else)**


	29. Chapter 29

The walk back to the guild was a long one, with no one speaking much. Charle had decided not to say anything that would make Gajeel even slightly angrier with her than he was already. She made sure to hold onto the jar tightly, even thought it was freaking her out more than a little bit. The gas in the bottles swirled around and seemed to be trying to escape. She hadn't known Bickslow very well, but even she knew that he was more than slightly weird, along with his soul magic she really dreaded what was inside of the bottles.

Even Wendy wasn't making much conversation, and both the girls knew that Gajeel had a large weak spot for the little Dragon Slayer. But even she was wary about the dark mood that radiating off him in waves. He strolled ahead in front of the group, keeping an eye on the time to make sure that he was going to be at the guild before they send out a search party. The last thing that he wanted was for Erza to send out a search party for them, and the anger that would come with that. He looked over his shoulder occasionally in order to make sure that the two girls were keeping up. He was more than a little nervous about them going disappearing while they were on his watch.

As soon as they got back to the guild, he made sure that the bottles were all stashed safely in one of the spare rooms, before heading over to report back to Levy. She was busy writing up some details that Macao and Romeo had brought back for her. A member of the public had said they saw someone who looked somewhat like Lisanna walking down the main road. Romeo was convinced that it wasn't her, but Macao insisted that they gave Levy all the information that they could find. She was dutifully writing it up on the board, but Gajeel could tell that it was going to be a false lead. He waited politely, before walking up behind her.

"No leads on where he went. He walked into the shop, there was a huge burst of magical energy and his scent disappeared. Unless he walked along the exact same line as before, he literally disappeared from where he stood."

Levy nodded, scribbling up on the board everything that Gajeel told her. She tapped the pen on her chin for a second, before turning back around to him.

"Did you detect any weird scents around there, anything that shouldn't have been there?"

Gajeel shrugged, before shaking his head.

"It's hard to tell. It's a public place, so there anyone could have been in there and I wouldn't be able to say anything. We might get better luck at the Strauss place. We just wanted to check in."

Their conversation was interrupted by the guild doors being pushed forcefully open, and a small blue exceed flew in before everyone heard the roar of Natsu's voice.

"I'm back everyone!"

Lucy trailed behind him and reading the mood of the guildhall she put her hand on his arm gently. He looked at her in confusion, before she started to speak.

"Natsu, I think something is wrong."

Mirajane ran over to Lucy, falling into her arms and bursting into tears again. Lucy wrapped her arms around the older woman gently as Elfman ran over to pull Natsu into a bone crushing hug.

"Lucy, I am so glad you're safe! Now all we need to hear from are Jet and Droy and we'll know that they're safe too!"

Lucy pulled away from Mira slightly, before looking her in the eyes and speaking softly to her in order to try to calm her down.

"What's the matter, Mira? What's going on?"

Elfman sniffed, still not letting Natsu go no matter how much he struggled. Natsu had more magical power than Elfman, sure, but when it came to strength alone he had no chance against the bigger man. The Strauss held him closer again, before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Lisanna's gone missing…"

That was all Natsu needed to hear. Elfman flew across the room, as Natsu looked around the room for answers.

"What the fuck do you mean she has gone missing? What have you been doing to try and find her? Who do I need to beat up in order to get her back?"

Elfman was rubbing the back of his head, while Evergreen sat next to him trying to nurse him back to health already. She was never one for public displays of affection, but at this moment she knew that he needed her more than he ever had before.

Erza stepped up to Natsu, putting a calming hand on his shoulder in order to attempt to calm him down. The last thing that they needed was for Natsu to start a fight and burn the whole guild down. Natsu took a couple of deep breaths, before sensing the mood of the room and closing his eyes in order to calm down a little.

"We don't know who it is Natsu. We have everyone out scouring the city, and Levy is coordinating the efforts. If you want we can fill you in on what has been happening?"

The Dragon Slayer sighed, before slowly making his way over to where Levy was looking at him. The fire had gone from his sails, and he looked deflated. Gajeel moved over, knowing that Lisanna and Natsu had been childhood friends even if it had never gone any further. Levy swallowed, seeing the look in Natsu's eyes before launching into an explanation of what was happening, praying that he would at least stay calm until she had finished.

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**Oh Gosh, I am sorry this is so late and so short! This week has been so hectic, but I hope to be back to my regular schedule next week! Thank you so much for sticking with this story even through my complete lack of organisation!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N - I do not own Fairy Tail**

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Natsu was literally smoking as the three of them made their way along to the Strauss house. Erza had insisted that he went along with Gajeel and Wendy, but due to his sense of smell being able to help out and to get him out of the guild before he burned it down. It would be an understatement to say that he didn't take the disappearance of Lisanna well. The heat in the entire hall had raised as Levy filled him in with all the details, no matter how many times Lucy tried to explain that simply fighting wasn't going to help out with this one.

Gajeel was making sure that he didn't say anything that would wind the Fire Dragon Slayer up even more. Despite the anger that he felt at two of the guild members going missing, he knew that Natsu had been good friends with Lisanna since they were little kids. He had more than a little reason to be angry at her disappearance. The only worry he had was that he was going to literally explode and take out any of the evidence they were likely to get from the Strauss residence. After debating with himself as to what would be the best thing to say, before deciding to just keep quiet. Wendy was walking along between the two men, keeping just as quiet as Gajeel. Charle and Happy had decided to do a flyover of the town to see if they could spot anything out of place, leaving just the Dragon Slayers to head out to the edge of Magnolia on their own. Natsu had been to the house many times before, and as such he was leading the way through the winding streets, with Gajeel and Wendy following close behind.

"I just don't understand how they just disappeared. Neither of them can teleport, and I am sure you would have been able to smell if a teleporter had been in there with them. Did you smell a teleporter in there?"

Gajeel rubbed at the bridge of his nose, trying to work out how best to respond to the man without pushing him over the edge. Wendy looked up at him, obviously too afraid to mention anything, before backing off and using the Iron Dragon Slayer as a human shield between her and Natsu.

"There might have been a teleporter in there, but there were so many people going in and out of that shop we wouldn't have been able to single any out. And who knows if there were multiple teleporters in there, they had every right to be in there. That's why we decided to look at her house, because theoretically only a select few people would have been in there."

Wendy ran up along side the men, and after judging that Natsu was slightly less stressed than before, she decided to chime in in an attempt to make him feel slightly better.

"I asked Mira and she said that no one from outside of the guild had been into her house for over a week. That means that we should be able to identify every scent in there, and if we can't then that's the person who has taken Bickslow and Lisanna!"

Natsu thought for a second, before nodding and making his way faster towards the Strauss residence, forcing Wendy to almost break into a jog to keep up with him. Gajeel wasn't sure, but he thought that he heard the younger man whisper under his breath.

"Don't worry, Lisanna. I'll find you."

It was both quiet and dark in the Strauss residence, and Gajeel felt around for the light switch. The scent trail led from the front door upstairs and into a room directly opposite the stairwell. Gajeel turned on the light quickly, before following his nose up the stairs. He barely had his foot on the first step before Natsu blew past him, sprinting up and onto the top level. Gajeel growled under his breath, but Wendy placed her hand on his arm, forcing him to hold back for a second. Looking at her, she shook her head. Gajeel sighed, before turning back to the stairs and making his way up.

By the time he got upstairs, Natsu was looking dejected. The room that the scent trail ended in was large, obviously Mira's, with a double bed sitting in the middle. Natsu had sat down, and was holding his head in his hands. The other two Dragon Slayers both sniffed at the air, before finding out why. The only scents that they could detect in the room were Lisanna and Mira, with Freed's scent still hanging around lightly. There wasn't going to be any more leads from their scent anyway. In fact, the only thing that tied the two scenes together was the massive ball of energy that lay on the right side of the bed, immediately above where Lisanna's scent was the strongest.

"It's from the same Wizard who took out Bickslow…" Wendy said, sitting down next to Natsu and putting her arm around him. He stiffened for a second, before relaxing again. The fire in his belly had gone out, and he was falling into a depression now.

"We didn't find out anything. We're no closer to finding out where Lisanna is."

Gajeel sat on the other side of him, choosing against putting his arm around the younger Dragon Slayer and instead rested a hand on his arm.

"We learned something, Salamandar. We learned that the person that took out Bickslow definitely took out Lisanna as well, and that they did it remotely. They weren't next to the person that took them. It also rules out a lot of theories that people have come up with within the guild, and narrows it down so we can tailor our search better."

Natsu sighed, unsure what to feel about the Iron Dragon Slayer comforting him. He decided that he would never mention it outside this room, and murder anyone who did. He stood up, and made to leave the house. Before he stepped out of the door, he turned to look at Gajeel and Wendy who still sat side by side on the bed.

"Well, I guess we have to go back and tell Levy what we found. She can't find Lisanna without information, right?"

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**Well, Pokemon Go! came out. I have no excuses.**

**Another exciting bit of news, someone suggested I set up a Patreon, so I did. You can find it here (** **http://patreon.com/user?u=3635934) if you wanted to check it out. I will still carry on updating every week without fail, but it will help me write my sister stories that I have planned, along with my original content if people were interested in reading that!**

**More Levy action next week, as I do realise that I am neglecting her. You ma also find out who is behind all this ;-)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer - unfortunately I do not own Fairy Tail :(**

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Levy had just finished running Lucy through all of her information so far on what had happened, and the blond was sat tapping a pen against her chin. Levy really had thought of everything, and although her best friend had asked her if she had any thoughts, she really had nothing to add.

"So Gajeel and Wendy said that they couldn't smell anything weird around where Bickslow disappeared?"

Levy shook her head, before sitting down opposite her. She held her head in her hands. She was starting to get tired from all the work her brain was doing, Kinana brought her another coffee without her even asking. She took a couple of sips, before looking over at Lucy.

"I'm just trying to think of why they would take Bickslow first. It must be something to do with his magic, but I just can't think what."

Lucy looked at the notes, before speaking her mind out loud.

"But how would they be able to control his magic? If anything, Bickslow could just take their soul straight away and he would be back her by now."

Something moved in the back of Levy's head, trying to come to light, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She knew that she needed to rest in order to get her brain back into working order, but people were still coming back and forth telling her more information. Sure it seemed useless now, but she never knew if it would come in handy later on. Almost as if Lucy had read her mind, she spoke up.

"Go take a nap in one of the medical bays. I'll write down all the information that comes in, and if anything important happens then I'll come wake you up."

Levy deliberated for a second, but she knew that she was almost completely useless like this, and getting worse by the second. If she wanted to really help out the guild, she needed her rest. Handing her pen to Lucy, she made her way down to the medical bay, falling asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

 

Lucy was in charge of the information when the Dragon Slayers came back. Gajeel panicked for a second before the Celestial Wizard explained to him where Levy was. Leaving Wendy and Natsu to debrief everything that they had found to her, he made his way downstairs to the medical bay.

She was fast asleep in one of the beds, and he went over to stroke her hair. She looked peaceful, and he knew that she needed the sleep. He looked around for a chair that he could bring over, before giving up and simply making one out of iron. It wouldn't be that much less comfortable than the wooden med bay chairs anyway. He pulled it up to the bedside and sat down. He needed to make sure that she was safe for the while, as much as he could anyway.

He thought back through the last couple of days, trying to put everything together. If he was honest, he knew Levy was the tactician in the relationship, but maybe he could figure something out.

The fact that there wasn't a scent out of place at the Strauss residence meant that Lisanna must have been teleported out, not to mention Wendy detecting what she thought was that type of magic, but how would they have been able to do that without being there with her? There was a lot he didn't know about teleportation magic, and although he hated suggesting it he knew that he would need to ask Levy to research it when she woke up. Now Lucy was dealing with collating information, maybe Levy would be able to use one of her other specialties to help out.

He looked down at her, lying there so peacefully in her sleep. She looked so delicate, and he was amazed that she could handle everything that he did to her without snapping in half. He ran his fingers up and down her arm, before drawing symbols to languages he didn't know there. Some symbols were made up and some he saw while she was busy doing her translation work for Lin…

"Motherfucker!"

The shout woke Levy up with a start. Gajeel was sat in a chair next to her, a look which was a weird cross between anger and realisation on his face. She was about to speak, but instead he grabbed her hands.

"Lin did it. Lin got both of them. Wendy said that she detected both teleportation and telepathy magic both where Bickslow went missing and in Mira's room. Lin has both of those Magic's, right?"

The thought that had been rattling around in the back of Levy's head before suddenly jumped to the front, and she swore loudly. How could she have been so stupid not to have realised before? Now it had fallen into place, thoughts came flooding around her head from the text that she had translated.

"Of course, he was doing research into how to forcibly take another person's magic and use it as your own… to do that you needed sieth, and takeover magic…"

Levy was out of the bed within seconds, and sprinting towards the main hall. She burst through the doors at the same time Evergreen and Freed came in through the main doors at the front of the hall. Freed was in tears, and Evergreen didn't look too far behind. Before Levy could tell everyone what she had discovered, Evergreen shouted to all of the people that had turned to look at them.

"Elfman and Mirajane have gone. They disappeared in front of our fucking eyes. They were there one second, and then they weren't. Fuck."

Levy looked at Gajeel, who had followed closely behind her into the room. Now they knew it was teleportation, and now Levy had a lot more work ahead of her. Heading over to Erza, she started to explain everything.

* * *

 

Bickslow's shoulders were aching. He woke for what seemed like the tenth time since he had been tied up in this hell hole, but this time, it was different. This time, it wasn't a man's voice that woke him, it was a woman's.

He lifted his head, unable to see anything through the thick bandages which wound around his eyes. Last time he had heard her talk she had been to his left, but this female voice came from his right, although it did sound familiar.

"Lisanna! Where are we?"

This time, it was a man, and Bickslow recognised it as Elfman. Why were Mira and Elfman here as well? He tugged once again on his restraints which were holding his arms above his head, which garnered the attention of the others in the room.

"Bickslow?"

The voice was now unmistakably Mira's, and he smiled slightly. Maybe having her sister there would placate Lisanna, even if it was just a little bit.

"What are we doing here? What happened?"

Bickslow sighed, shaking his head as he did.

"There's some maniac, trying to get me to put Lisanna's soul into his body. I've told him I'm not gonna do it, no matter how much he tortured me. I'm not gonna hurt Lisanna."

"Very noble of you, Bickslow. Your morals really did put a spanner into my plan. What a shame you had fallen in love with her."

The voice was the same one which had been torturing him for… he didn't know how long. To the left of him, Lisanna started to cry. He hadn't hurt her at all, said she was too precious for that, but he had forced her to watch torturing Bickslow since she had arrived. He heard the jangle of chains to the right, but no more words.

"Never mind, I can use that to my advantage. Who knew that she would have siblings with the same power? Now I don't need her. You managed to withstand when I tortured you, but could you see me torture her?"

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**A/N - A massive shout out to Deblovesdragon, who pm'd me and guessed who it was.**

**I wanted to put a little bit of BickslowxLisanna love, but from now on it will be focused on the guild and Levy and Gajeel figuring out what he is doing.**

**Thanks once again for all of your support! Please continue to leave me reviews because they make my heart leap <3**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer - I still do not own Fairy Tail**

* * *

Gajeel followed Levy in her run over to Erza. The bluenette grabbed the acting leader, before pulling her off to the side.

"Erza, I think that we know who's doing this. I did a job for someone a few days ago, and the translation I did was research into how people gained their magic. There was a section on how to steal other people's magic, and it involves the use of Sieth and Takeover magic. I think it was just a coincidence that they were dating, and they were taken just for their magic."

Erza thought it through, before nodding slowly. She had never known that there was such research out there in the world and subsequently had never thought that it was even possible.

"Just because you did the translation work for him doesn't necessarily mean that it was him, though. I highly doubt that he was the only person who had done any research into that specific knowledge…"

Gajeel interrupted her, standing to the left of her and crossing his arms. He didn't know why he was angry at her for doubting Levy's knowledge.

"That's the thing, Wendy detected teleportation AND telepathy magic at both where Bickslow disappeared and Mira's place. The guy that we met used both of those. I'm not saying it's definitely him, but I imagine that there can't be that many people with that combination of magic, along with doing the research. Yeah, it may not be him, but it doesn't hurt to check."

Erza tapped her chin, not intimidated by Gajeel's anger at all. She stood up from where she was sat at the bar, before turning to the pair.

"Where did you see him last?"

Levy gulped, not liking the look of anger on Erza's face. Sure, she knew that it wasn't directed at her, but it still sent chills down her spine.

"We met him in a hotel on the other side of Magnolia. He was in the Penthouse of Sunny Hotel and Spa, but he mentioned he was leaving town. He gave me a load more translation material, and his business card in order to get it back to him. The material is downstairs, I'll just go and get it for you…"

Erza grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from turning around before leaping up onto the bar and addressing the entire guild.

"Listen up everyone! Levy has got us a lead on who is doing this so I want to shut them down before they go any further.

"Seeing as the Master is away on Council business, I believe I am in the best position to lead everyone, any objections?"

Everyone looked around, but even Laxus allowed Erza to take the position. He would be the first to admit that, although technically stronger than Erza, she had the mixture of tactician and soldier that they would need right now. In addition, and though he would never admit it out loud, the remaining two members of his team needed him right now. They were both sat quietly beside him, Freed sniffling occasionally, and he didn't want them to go any further into depression than they already were.

Erza nodded, returning to shouting into the hall.

"Natsu, Gray, Wendy and Lucy you're all coming with me. We're going to where he was seen last, and if he isn't there we're tracking him down.

"Warren, I want you to set up a telepathic link between us and Gajeel, who will be running the operation from back here."

Gajeel coughed, surprised at being put in charge. He knew it had been a while, but he was amazed at how much trust Erza put in him now. He looked around, expecting someone, especially Laxus, to take offense to this, but no one came forward. They all knew that Erza had chosen him for a reason, and didn't want to bring her judgment into question.

"Levy, I want you to focus on learning everything you can around what the man was researching. We might need all of the knowledge we can get. Freed, you help her out with that."

Levy and Freed both nodded, the latter wiping a tear from his eye. Now he had something to focus on, he knew that he could work hard in order to bring Mira back. Laxus grinned, knowing that now Freed was on the case helping out the little bookworm, they would learn everything in no time.

"Laxus, Cana, Juvia I want you to protect the guild hall with your lives. We don't know if he is working with anyone, people who may try to attack us while they think we are weak. Show them that hurting our guild mates makes Fairy Tail stronger!"

Laxus nodded, looking towards the two other members who joined his defensive team. Although himself from the past would never have admitted it, the two were certainly strong mages. In addition, he knew that he and Juvia's magic would complement each other's in battle. As long as he made sure not to beat her.

Bacchus looked around, in awe at what happened when Fairy Tail banded together. Of course, he had heard of their strength as a family, but being in the middle of it was something else entirely. It was surreal in the way he didn't feel like an outsider, and in fact part of the group. He knew in that moment that, if it came down to a fight, he would fight to the end along with the rest of the guild.

"Kinana, I need you to make sure that everyone is fed, watered and rested. I know it's tough that you're gonna be the only cook around here, but believe me, it's an important role. We all need to be in top shape in order to take on this opponent."

The barmaid nodded, her own love for the guild growing. Even though she didn't have any magic, she had been taken under everyone's wing and was always included in any plans being made.

"Macao, Wakaba, Romeo, I need you three to take over Lucy's position in collating all of the information both we gather from the field and what Levy and Freed come up with. Macao, get in contact with all the other guilds and keep them informed. They are valuable sources of information, and if worst comes to the worst we could pull in some favours.

Everyone! We need to remember where we get our strength from! This man has hurt our guild, and we need to show him what happens to those who pain our family!"

Everyone cheered for the first time since everything had started, before immediately starting on their jobs. Gajeel took up a position next to all of the information, while Levy led Freed down the stairs to gather the information that they needed.

Erza set about preparing her own party, waiting for Levy to provide the information as to where to find the man if he had already left the hotel room. As soon as the card was handed over to her, they all set out to the front of the guild. She stopped for a second, turning around to extend her finger and thumb, everyone taking a break from their activities in order to return the gesture in a moment of calm before the chaos continued.

* * *

**A/N - I just want to express major love for people PM'ing me with their theories of what is going on, love it!**

**I just wanted to ask a quick question. I will, of course, be focusing on those who have stayed at the guild, along with Gajeel and Levy, but would people also want to know what is happening with Erza's team?**

**This fanfiction is now over 100,000 words long. I can't even put into words how glad I am you guys are still following and reading this. Much love to you all.**


	33. Chapter 33

Gajeel sat down next to the wall of information that was still being added to, before holding his head in his hands. This had all happened far too fast for him, and he wasn't quite sure what to do. Erza had already given everyone their roles, and all that was left for him was to ensure that they followed it to the letter. Romeo was busy sifting through the information that Levy had written up, trying to make his way through it and make sense of her scribbling. Levy and Freed were busy moving all of the texts that they needed from the downstairs library of the guild to a spare table in the guild room, employing both Laxus and Bacchus to help.

Juvia had sat down next to Evergreen and was trying to console her as much as she could. The older woman had gone uncharacteristically quiet and withdrawn from the group. She was turning her fan over and over in her hands, and her eyes focused on that, not considering what was going on around her at all. Gajeel would never have thought that she would take the disappearance of Elfman so hard, she seemed to hate him whenever they were around each other but now he could see that she wanted nothing more than to be with him.

He was wrenched from his thoughts by some commotion at the front of the guildhall. Juvia and Cana immediately jumped up to guard those inside of the hall, with Laxus and even Bacchus dropping what they were carrying and joining them at the front of the hall. Gajeel jumped up, even though Erza hadn't told him to protect the hall he would do it with his life. It was a second before his sense of smell kicked in and told him what was going on. He turned around to the rest of the room and shouted to everyone to stand down.

"It's just two idiots and my cat. You don't need to worry, guys."

Levy's ears perked up at that. She knew who Gajeel was referring to with the two idiots, and she felt a weight lift off her chest that she hadn't even noticed was there before. Placing the papers she was carrying carefully on the table, she sprinted to the front of the guildhall and threw the doors open.

Jet, Droy and Lily were all arguing amongst themselves, but Levy didn't care. She threw herself into the group, picking up Lily in her arms as she brought both Jet and Droy into a hug. Their arguments stopped, as they stared at the girl in surprise. They all knew that she loved them, but usually, she never forced them into a hug like this. Their worries were confirmed when she looked up to them, tears streaming from her eyes as she did.

"What the fuck did he do to you?"

Jets fists clenched by his sides, before moving to make his way into the Guildhall, closely followed by Droy. It wasn't long before Levy grabbed them, stopping them before they could do anything that they would regret soon enough.

"He hasn't done anything, come in and I'll explain everything to you…"

Gajeel sighed as Levy dragged her two lackeys into the room, and ran them through everything that had happened since they had left. After she had got it off her chest, she sent them over to Macao for more in depth knowledge while she got on with her translation work. He couldn't even begin to think of how she was feeling, knowing that some of her best friends were safe. All that feeling came flooding into himself as soon as Lily jumped onto his lap and sat down. He was always at his most cuddly after coming back from a job, after a couple of hours, he would be back to his normal self, ignoring the Dragon Slayer and doing his own thing.

"So they just disappeared?" The exceed asked, from down on his lap. Gajeel nodded, petting Lily's head as he did. He hadn't got his head around it fully yet, and he was nowhere near to the point where he understood it enough to explain it to someone else. He instead settled for just drinking some more of his beer and calling over to Warren.

"Hey, Warren, can you get in touch with Erza and tell her that these three are all ok? Wish her and all the rest of them the best of luck while you're at it?"

Warren nodded, before bringing his fingers up to his temples and sending his thoughts across the world into Erza's mind, not bothering waiting for a response back. She was probably far too busy to reply to him right now.

"You know that this whole thing is going to balance on Levy and Freed, right? It's a shame we don't have more translators to help them out…" Lily was thinking his thoughts out loud, but Gajeel was grateful for it. The two of them were always at their best when they were talking to each other, discussing tactics and bouncing ideas off each other. Lily then stood up, stretched and went closer to Gajeel in order to whisper into his ear.

"You do know that if they truly did just disappear, then there is nothing anyone else can do? Gildarts could be here and he wouldn't be able to stop them. We can collect all of our best people, prepare until we are blue in the face for a war that's about to come and it would be for nought. There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop him until we go to him."

Gajeel sighed. Of course, he knew that. But that would cause chaos within the guild, which wouldn't do an ounce of good. Right now, everyone in the guild was working on their own thing, which was above all else keeping them sane and quiet. He hated to say it, but they were all relying on Erza and her group right now. If they could take down Lin, it wouldn't have to go any further.


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer - I do not own Fairy Tail!**

* * *

 

Natsu was running through the streets of Magnolia, barely held back by the others at all. The only thing holding him back from going full speed was Erza steadfastly refusing to tell him where they were heading. Something about having to make sure that the man they found was actually doing it before attacking him. It made sense in some deep part of Natsu's brain, but right now the rage that he felt over the disappearance of Lisanna was taking over.

"Natsu, you need to calm down. We can't go in there all guns blazing, not like we normally do. We need to find out where they're keeping everyone before we take him down."

Erza was making sense, like always, and Natsu slowed down to a walk. If they did need to move along to the address on the business card, it would be a three-day trip by train at least so they would need to keep their energy up. Natsu was hoping beyond all hope that the guy was still at the hotel.

They could see the hotel from halfway across the city it was so tall. A big towering building of marble and glass, sticking out from the traditional surroundings like a sore thumb. Erza held up her hand, forcing everyone to stop moving and look at her.

"We have to be intelligent about this. We know he's a teleporter so he could get out of there within seconds. We need to take him down immediately, there's no long battle with this one. I know it's not what this team is known for, but we need to be tactical about this."

Everyone looked at each other. The team was more raw power than tactical thinking, and Lucy started to think that they had bitten off more than they could chew with this job.

"Levy-san said the man we are looking for is on the top floor. Charle and I could fly up there and see if he's there?"

Erza shook her head at Wendy's suggestion.

"He might notice what you are doing and get out of there. I suggest we go and talk to the people at the reception, like normal people." The last statement was directed straight at Natsu and Gray, who just ignored the pointed look and directed their eyes to the floor. "We can see if he's even still there, or if he has already left. There's no point going upstairs if he's already gone."

Lucy and Wendy nodded, before following Erza into the lobby of the hotel. Wendy was amazed by the luxury which surrounded them and looked at everything through wide eyes. She was fascinated by a large fire lacrima in the middle of the room, somehow not giving off any heat but still creating the atmosphere of a warm fire in winter. She walked over to take a closer look, before Charle tugged at her sleeve, giving her a disapproving look. Wendy jumped up, running over to where Erza was speaking to the well-kempt woman behind the counter.

"We don't have anyone by that name, and the man who owns the penthouse hasn't been here for about six months… Are you sure that you have the correct hotel?"

Erza's expression remained stern as she regarded the woman, deciding that she was telling the truth at least to the best of her knowledge. She showed the young girl her guild mark, and began to gesture for all the others to do the same.

"We're all from Fairy Tail, and we are investigating the man who owns the penthouse. Would you be able to tell us slightly more about him?"

The woman looked hesitant for a moment, seeming to mull over whether to release the information to the group of mages in front of her. After a couple of seconds, she decided that, after seeing their victories at the Grand Magic Games, she could trust all of the people in trust of her.

"He's very secretive, we don't really know much about him. All we have been able to gather from the few years is that he is some kind of mage, not affiliated with any guild as far as I know. His father owned the penthouse before him, and he was a much nicer man. Made his money through consulting with rich parents as to how to give their children the most powerful magic, I believe. His heart never tended to be in it, though…"

Erza nodded through the entirety of the woman's speech, it was definitely looking like the man who owned the penthouse was the man that Levy met with. If he was a telepathy mage, he would have been able to wipe the minds of the reception staff relatively easily. Her best bet on finding out information about him now would be to go up to the room and have a snoop around. If he was there as infrequently as he led the hotel to believe, he wouldn't mind anyway.

It took a bit longer, and a few chats with the managers of the hotel, to get permission for everyone to go up to the penthouse. Both Erza and Lucy had to use all of their charm in order to get the, admittedly sleazy, owner of the hotel to finally allow them into the lift and up to the top of the hotel.

As soon as they were in there, Erza could tell that it had been occupied a lot more recently than the hotel staff believed. The other thing that jumped out to her, was that the inhabitant had left in a hurry. Half full cups were left on the side, and papers were strewn around the place. Upon closer inspection, Erza could see that they were the translations that Levy provided.

"It looks like he figured out what he was doing and ran out to go and do it…"

Erza sighed. There was no more information to gather from the penthouse, the other rooms seemed almost untouched as if they had been cleaned between the last time they were used and when the occupant left. There was nothing left for it other than to go to the address the man had provided Levy with, a horrendous three-day trek to what Erza assumed was another dead end.

She collected up all of the papers, along with any other books that she could find around the place and gave them to the exceeds to take back to the guild and to Levy and Freed, before instructing them to meet her back at the train station.

"We take the next train out. He has a huge lead on us, and time is running out."

Erza smiled, remembering that the owner of the train company owed her a favour. Maybe she could shave down those three days after all…

* * *

 

**A/N - Sorry this chapter is a day late, I am going to try and sort out specific times to sit and write so the chapters are on time/a longer length.**

**Keep on reviewing, I read and love every single one! <3**


	35. Chapter 35

Gajeel made his way over to where Levy and Freed were working, carrying two cups of the strongest coffee that Kinana could make. Freed took it and drank it all without even looking up, however, Levy looked up and smiled.

"Give me an update, how is it looking?"

Levy took a sip of her coffee, before shaking her head.

"We've managed to find out more of the mechanics of what he is wanting to do."

Freed looked up from his notes, figuring out that the conversation wasn't just between two lovers, and that they were actually discussing their findings. He interrupted Levy, starting to explain in more detail what they had read and translated.

"Essentially, he has to get Bickslow to transfer the soul of one of the takeover siblings into his body. He will then use the takeover magic to transfer Bickslows magic into himself. The combination of the two means he can take another person's magic into him, gaining both the nature of the magic, along with the user's magic power."

Gajeel was busy scribbling all of the information down on a piece of paper, before cradling his head in his hands and sighing in frustration.

"So he can just harvest the magic power of anyone he knows about? I know Erza's team is strong, but that is a bit much for even them to deal with. How many people can he gain the magic power of?"

Both Levy and Freed shrugged. Nothing in anything they had read mentioned any kind of limit to the man's power. He could, theoretically, keep gaining power from anyone he could think of until he had stolen the power of everyone on the planet. Gajeel sucked on his pen for a second, before voicing something he had been wondering for the last couple of minutes.

"So how has he not taken us yet? We have literally met the man, and he needed more translation done by you. Why has he not stolen our magic?"

Levy thought for a second, before speaking.

"I'm not sure. I am guessing he gave me all of this translation to do because he didn't know his father's diary had the information he wanted. We still have an awful lot of translation to go through, so I am hoping we will learn more about what he is doing. I need to look up on the teleportation magic as well, to see if there's any way we can block him from taking us."

Gajeel nodded, before standing and kissing her on the forehead. She smiled, both from the attention and the fact that she knew he was giving her both permission and encouragement to get back to work.

* * *

Gajeel took his note and went to the other side of the guild. The news was just getting worse and worse, and he decided to leave the two of them to it in the hopes that they would eventually find some good news.

The atmosphere in the guild was definitely subdued. None of the members were particularly up to partying, and they all just sat around, staring into their drinks. Even Jet, who Gajeel was sure had never stood still in his life, was sat next to Droy staring into the 7 shots of espresso that he was drinking. He went up to sit at the bar and tried to work out when he needed to tell the two investigators to sleep. He knew that they would need it in order to work at their maximum efficiency, and yet he still didn't want to lose any amount of time where they weren't working. In the end, he settles for allowing them to take shifts sleeping, but they should be able to work for the next couple of hours.

He was still writing his plans for the next few hours when Happy and Carla dropped two heavy bags in front of him.

"Hey, Gajeel. We found all of this in the man's hotel, and Erza told us that we have to bring them to you. She thinks that it may help out Levy and Freed."

Gajeel looked at the huge bags, before turning back to the Exceeds. It seemed weird to be thanking Happy for something actually useful, but he did it all the same.

"Thanks, guys. Are you going back to them now, or staying here?"

Both Exceeds nodded, while Kinana bought Happy a fish. He took it gratefully and took a couple of bites of it.

"Tell her that he is using Bickslow and the Takeover siblings to steal other people's magic power. We don't know how many people he is able to take into himself, but with each one his magic capacity increases. He's gonna be a difficult opponent, and they're going to have to watch out for that."

Carla's face looked grim, but Happy still blissfully chewed on his fish. Sometimes Gajeel wished he was in whatever world the blue exceed spent his time. After he had finished, both the exceeds lifted off and started towards the door.

"Be careful!" Gajeel heard being shouted from his side and looked down to see Pantherlily climbing up onto the bar stool next to him. Gajeel placed his hand on the exceed's head, happy for his company. With Lily by his side, hereally did feel like he could do anything.

* * *

 

Levy smiled up at Gajeel when he deposited more papers and books on the table. This war was going to be won with knowledge, and she felt amazing that she was playing such a major part in this war. She had never translated so fast, and she knew that no one but herself would understand her notes, but that didn't matter to her. Occasional glances to her right showed her the immaculate handwriting Freed was using to make his notes, and it made her feel more than slightly guilty. Turning back to her work, she carried on translating the text. There was a lot of information about how to perform teleportation magic, including how to increase the radius of effect, but absolutely nothing on how to avoid being teleported. It was almost as if it was an issue that no one had ever thought of before.

It came as a shock when Freed grabbed her leg out of nowhere, and she looked up to see a panicked face. Sure, they were good friends, but he had never really touched her before.

"Freed?"

The man was shaking now. She had never seen anyone look so scared. His green eyes bored into hers. Levy had always thought people were exaggerating when they said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, but now she could see it was true. Freed was being attacked with a magic he had no idea how to counter, and he looked like a small boy facing his fears for the first time.

"I feel… non-existent. I think he has me. Levy, he's pulling me away. I don't want to go. I don't want to be alone"

Levy's heart skipped a beat. The more she thought about it, the more she started to panic. Her body moved almost without her willing it to, and she found herself grabbing the green-haired man into a grasp.

"No! FREED! You can fight it. You're stronger than that! You're the leader of the Raijinshuu!"

The rune mage was flitting in and out of existence faster and faster, and Levy desperately tried to cling onto him, despite the knowledge that it wasn't going to do them any good. Freed was as good as gone, and there was nothing she could do. She felt a hand on her shoulder and pulled back to see the man looking into her eyes.

"Thank you, Levy. For being here. I wish you the best of luck."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

 

**A/N - Thanks again for all of your support!**

**I know this has been a little light on the Gajevy recently, but if you're feeling left out I am taking part in Gajevy Love Love Fest this year. Warm up prompt is already up, and you'll get a new Gajevy lemon every day for the week of the 22nd.**

**Thanks for sticking with me through this story <3\. At the end of this arc there will be mega Gajevy, I promise <3**


	36. Chapter 36

"Evergreen-san has gone!"

Juvia's voice entered Levy's head, but it barely even registered. She was left staring at the maroon cloth that she held in her hands, edges blurred from the tears that were erupting from behind her eyes. Freed was completely gone, there was nothing left but his clothes and the warmth that still clung to them. She brought it up to her face and sobbed into the fabric. She had known there was nothing anyone could do, but the reality of it actually happening was still too much for her.

A roar erupted from the centre of the guild. It was one of a terrified and dying animal, and it reverberated off the walls. Levy looked up, to see Laxus had stood from his seat at the bar. The stool had knocked backwards behind him and clattered to the floor. Laxus was tearing at his hair, screaming in pain at the realisation his last remaining bodyguards had gone. He had taken the disappearance of Bickslow pretty bad, but this was worse. It wasn't long until he turned to Levy, and stormed over to her. His hands slammed down on the table, disturbing the papers which rested there as Levy pressed her back into the chair, holding up Freed's coat as a makeshift shield. She had never seen such anger in Laxus' eyes, not even when he tried to take over the guild. At least then he still had his faithful friends by his side.

"Why couldn't you stop it? WHY COULDN'T YOU SAVE HIM?"

It was mere seconds after that that she felt herself being pressed against the bricks behind her, a literal wall of steel appearing between her and Laxus.

* * *

 

Gajeel didn't think he had ever moved as fast as he did at that moment. He blocked the entirety of Levy's body, being sure not to touch her. If Laxus did hit him with an attack, he needed to make sure that it didn't conduct through him and into the woman behind him.

Lightning started to crackle around Laxus' hands, and the Dragon inside of Gajeel started to rise. Scales appeared over his skin, and metal blades grounded himself to the floor. He had been in enough fights with electricity mages to know what he was doing now. He opened his mouth to try and talk the man down when he saw two hands grab the other Dragon Slayer from behind.

* * *

 

Laxus felt two arms encircle him and felt the tell-tale signs of a woman's breasts against his back. The anger started to dwindle within him, and he turned around to see who was there.

Cana stood in front of him, tears streaming down her face.

"Laxus! We need Levy to find Freed and the others. If you hurt her now, we won't be able to get them back. Don't let this tear the guild apart."

Laxus kept staring into Cana's eyes before his anger dissipated. He launched himself forward, bringing her into an embrace as he burst into sobs. His fingers dug into her flesh, and she knew that they would leave bruises in the morning.

"Why didn't they take me? They could do anything to me if only to leave them alone. They've stuck with me through everything, they're all that I have and I couldn't even fucking save them."

His head fell into Cana's chest, and she started to run her fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him. She hoped that he didn't notice the tears that were falling off her cheeks into the blonde strands.

"You can't blame yourself. We've all been trying our hardest, and you know Freed wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

Laxus opened his mouth to speak again, but all that came out were more screams of despair. He fell to his knees, dragging Cana down with him as he sobbed into her shoulder. Everyone else in the guild simply sat and watched, various numbers of tears streaming down their cheeks.

Levy watched Laxus' back, not able to tear her eyes away. She could feel Gajeel pulling her into his side, and she went willingly. She didn't know how long they all sat there before Laxus managed to speak again.

"Levy. Please tell me it doesn't hurt. Tell me they're not in pain."

Levy had thought her tears were over, but they started to flow just as heavily as they had before.

"I don't… I don't know. I can't tell you."

* * *

 

It hurt. A lot. In fact, Evergreen couldn't ever remember being in more pain than she was when she woke up. Not only did her body ache, it felt weak as well. She could only feel the magic which resided in her eyes, her Fairy Magic was depleting. She felt like her very soul was being ripped out, hanging onto her body in threads that were being pulled taut.

She tried to open her eyes, to survey her surroundings and found it impossible. She tried to bring her hands up to remove whatever was blocking them, but to no avail. Focusing on the sensation on her face, she came to the conclusion that she had bandages wrapped around her head, protecting those in front of her from her Stone eyes.

"Ah, you're awake."

Evergreen wouldn't like to admit that she jumped, but she did. The voice had come from directly in front of her, just inches away from her face. She hadn't heard anyone come in, and she came to the realisation that he had been standing in front of her, watching her while she was unconscious. The thought sent a shudder down her spine.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she felt someone else's finger press against her lips. She tried to back away, but to no avail.

"You know, it's such a shame I can't get the magic out of your eyes. Did you know that it solely resided there, and there's no way to remove it? I didn't until a few days ago. Your friends magic would have been so useful, but still, it stays unobtainable to me."

At the mention of Bickslow, Evergreen bucked up. She gathered the last of her strength and shouted around the finger that was trying to keep her silent.

"BICKSLOW! Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

She waited for a response, desperate to hear the voice that usually annoyed her so much. But nothing came, apart from a soft chuckle from immediately in front of her.

"Oh, don't worry dear, he's been put to sleep. Just like you will be when I finally drain you of all of your magic."

Evergreen tried to ignore the feeling of dampness that was spreading over the bandage and tried even harder not to think of what the man meant.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  A/N - Please forgive me for the cliffhanger last week. Please still love me.
> 
> I will be writing a short story for each of the prompts for Gajevy Love Love Fest starting tomorrow, look out for it on whatever platform you are using right now (plus Tumblr) if you want some more Gajevy Lemon.
> 
> Carry on with your comments, I still love you all!


	37. Chapter 37

To say the mood was subdued in the guild was an understatement. Everyone had renewed their interests in going out and searching for their lost guild mates, leaving only a select few in the guild hall. Laxus had retreated into a corner, the only person brave enough to go anywhere near him was Cana, who sat and let him sob into her chest. She was slowly moving her fingers through his hair, knowing that it would calm him down, but it didn't seem to be having much of an effect. The poor man was broken.

She had her cards out on the table in front of her, and was trying desperately to read them in a way that would give them some sort of a clue as to where the Raijinshuu and the Takeover siblings had been taken, but it was proving a fruitless search right now. Wherever the man was, he had managed to block her magic somehow.

Gajeel was sat at the bar, staring over the information that Levy had gathered over the last couple of days. He had told her he wouldn't be much help, but she had told him that an extra pair of eyes might be useful in going over the wealth of information she had been accumulating. It wasn't going very well, and he looked over to where Levy was sat. She was wearing Freed's coat against the cold weather and going through some of the papers that Happy had brought over from Lin's hotel room. Her eyes looked tired, but she refused to take any breaks. Instead, Kinana continued bringing her increasing concentrations of coffee, to which the Solid Script Mage smiled and thanked her profusely without even looking up. Gajeel sighed and was about to go and try to force her into getting some actual sleep again before the bluenette looked up, excitement glittering in her eyes as she signalled him over.

He was over by her side in seconds, sinking into the chair next to her. Looking down at the paper she was holding, he was dismayed to see it was in a language that he couldn't even begin to understand. But that didn't deter Levy. She immediately launched herself into an explanation of what she had found, grabbing onto Gajeel's sleeve as she did.

"I've finally found some good news. It isn't anything more than we already knew in terms of what he is actually doing to them, but I have managed to pull together a couple of pieces of information."

She shuffled through the papers that she had been keeping on the table, desperately trying to find the one that she wanted. When it was finally in her hands, she pulled it towards Gajeel who could see it was written in Fiorian. It looked like some sort of blueprint for a magical machine, and he tried to get a closer look at it until Levy placed it back down onto the table.

"These are some instructions on how to make an experimental medical lacrima. It's used to keep victims of Magical Deficiency Disorder alive until their magic can be replenished. In theory, it can keep a wizard alive indefinitely, providing them with all of the nutrients that they need while simultaneously slowing down their bodies so the effect of the disease doesn't kill them. The longest anyone has been in there is two years, and as yet there have not been any side effects of the treatment. Remember how we were locked away for seven years? This is essentially the same, however, they still age while they are in there."

Gajeel looked at the small woman sat next to him, happiness in her eyes for the first time since Bickslow disappeared.

"Levy, are you telling me that…"

"They're not dead! If there's anything that we know, it's that he hasn't killed them. And that's where this comes in…"

Levy picked up the piece of paper she was originally looking at when she called him over, placing it onto the table and tracing the words with her finger as she translated them.

"'The transfer of magics is broken if the original owner is killed'. He can't kill them, otherwise, he loses the power he gained. I think he is keeping them in these lacrima as he is gaining their powers. He has an incentive not to let them die."

Gajeel grinned. It definitely was something to be happy about. Maybe their fellow members weren't with them right now, but at least they were safe. It had been something that had been eating at the back of everyone's minds, but now they were free of the worry that had been plaguing them. He pulled the original plans over to himself again, looking them over quickly before turning to his girlfriend.

"Something like this is going to take up an awful lot of magical power, isn't it? Maybe that will help us try and find where he is keeping them all. I'll have to let Team Erza know that they want to look for a large output of magical power. Any idea as to the pattern of people disappearing?"

Levy shook her head. She had been trying to look for some rhyme or reason to the disappearances, but she hadn't been able to look up anything regarding Lin's magic yet. Gajeel smiled down at her anyway, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"Go get some sleep. You've found out their lives aren't in danger, and you'll need to be in as good a shape as possible in order to make sure you can keep researching. Caffeine is good, but you need a proper sleep. I promise I will wake you up if we learn anything new, OK?"

Levy nodded, before standing up to make her way back to the beds in the rear of the guild. Gajeel was right, she would be no use to anyone if she collapsed in exhaustion. She was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, her last thought was Gajeel, and how she hoped beyond hope that she was able to keep him safe.

* * *

 

Cana had given up with her cards when she felt Laxus stiffen beneath her. Looking down, she could see he had stilled before he sat up and looked her in the eyes. He was smiling.

"I'm going, Cana. I'm going to find them."

The Card mage looked into his eyes. They were almost sparkling, and he looked like he had lost his mind. Cana grabbed onto his shoulders, about to shake him into some sort of sense when his grin turned evil, and he reminded her of a Laxus she had known all those years ago.

"I'm going to find my friends. And I am going to fucking avenge them."

And with that, he was gone and Cana was left holding onto his coat. She tried not to cry, but the first sob escaped her lips as she brought the fabric up to her eyes.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - This one is slightly shorter than normal due to Gajevy Love Love week this past week. I am going to try and do a longer chapter for next week though, to mark Chapter 40.  
> Keep up with your reviews, I read every single one and they really make me happy in my life. Let me know if you love this, let me know if you hate this.


	38. Chapter 38

_“So, essentially, Levy says that they’re being left alive. It is going to be taking up a huge amount of magic power, though, so that’s something to help out the search.”_   
_“Thanks, Warren. We’re just going to check out the address now. There’s no abnormal level of magic here at the moment, so it’s probably the wrong place. We’ll get back in touch when we have had a look around.”_

Erza turned around from her conversation with the telepath and looked towards where the rest of the group were waiting. The address they had been given had led them to an old gothic church in the middle of nowhere. Whoever this man was, he certainly had a flair for the dramatic.  
The journey had been arduous, sure, and they were all currently sat outside waiting for Natsu to get over his motion sickness. His anger had been brewing under the surface, though, and Erza fully intended to use it to her advantage. As such, she conveniently didn’t tell him that their fellow guild members were safe.  
It absolutely killed her to do it, but if what Levy was saying was true this man currently held the magic power of all the Takeover Siblings, along with the complete Raijinshuu. They needed all the firepower they had. Quite literally.  
“Warren says that he has taken Evergreen and Freed earlier today. We need to be wary that he could be using their magic along with Mira’s.”  
Gray curse silently. Sure, he had never been particularly close with the Raijinshuu, but they were still Fairy Tail. They were still family, and they were being hurt at the hands of this maniac. His fists clenched at his side. He was going to stop this man if it was the last thing he did.

As soon as Natsu had recovered sufficiently from his motion sickness, they walked to enter the Church. Natsu, typically, wanted to storm in but Erza held him back. If by some miracle the man was here, and not simply using it as a trading post, she wanted to at least catch him by surprise. If she could knock him out before he could transform into Satan Soul, she had a much better chance of leaving the church victorious.  
The old church was dilapidated inside. It was obvious that no one had worshipped there for the best part of a century, and it showed. The wooden pews were either missing or rotting away, and the remains of the stained glass windows were scattered over the worn stones that made up the floor.   
It was at least 5 degrees colder in here than it was outside, and their footsteps echoed around the room. It looked completely empty as their eyes scanned around the room until their attention fell on the altar at the front. A body was sprawled over the floor, wearing a green dress that seemed very familiar to them.  
“Is that…” Wendy’s voice echoed around the old church and made her sound somewhat younger than she actually was. Lucy’s voice came not long after, confirming what everyone was thinking.  
“Evergreen!”

Before Erza could start to stop them, the two girls ran forward to where their teammate was lay, accompanied by their exceed partners. She was hunched over on her side, and Lucy grabbed her shoulder in order to pull her over.  
Her body was limp, and it moved easily under the pressure that Lucy applied. Her hair fell away from her face, and Lucy had a second to wonder how odd it was that her eyes were open before their magic took effect.

The remaining team could do nothing but stand and watch as Lucy, Wendy, Happy and Charle were all simultaneously turned to stone. Natsu and Gray roared, moving to run forward before Erza managed to hold them back. She was trembling in rage, but still had enough logic to think through their situation.  
“Don’t go over. He’s already taken out over half of our team, I can’t cope with losing you two as well.”  
The boys nodded, before turning around to search the church more fully. Erza moved slowly up to her fellow guildmates, requipping as she did. Her attire didn’t change, instead, a pair of glasses appeared on her face just as she came to stand over her fallen comrade. When she did, a small part of her wished she hadn’t.

Evergreen was obviously unconscious, a fact that was confirmed by the fact she wasn’t reacting to any stimulus in the room. The reason she had been able to turn the others to stone was that her eyes weren’t closed. They had been sewn open, with threads looping through her eyelids and following through to either her cheeks or her eyebrows. Erza gasped in shock. The thread was tinged with blood, and her eyes had become dry and bloodshot from the length of exposure to the dry air. Maybe the guy wasn’t out to kill them, but he sure wasn’t against harming them.

Thunder crashed through the sky, and Erza turned around in hope. It had been perfectly sunny before, not necessarily warm but there hadn’t been a single cloud in the sky. It meant only one thing.  
“Laxus.”  
It hadn’t been that long ago that Erza would have dreaded the arrival of her fellow S-Class mage, but right now it was a blessing. Both the boys looked up from what they were doing, their faces turned up to the sky to meet the Lightning Dragon Slayer. It couldn’t hurt having another powerhouse on their team.  
Lightning crackled through the open door of the church, the one they had entered through, and they watched as the body formed from the electricity, slowly being revealed as their eyes adjusted from the bright flash of light.  
“You’re not…”  
Erza was the first one to react. Standing where she expected to see Laxus was another man entirely. He was panting from exhaustion, red hair pasted to his forehead with sweat and falling around his face. His shirt had been torn away from his skin revealing writing in a variety of languages tattooed over every inch of his chest and arms, and black eyes stared at her. Both Gray and Natsu immediately started to run towards the man but were stopped in their tracks as the man raised his arms. Erza watched on helplessly was they both crumpled to the floor in front of her and the man took his turn to speak.  
“Not who you were expecting, Titania?”

Erza growled, immediately lunging at the man with her sword as she charged forward. She was just about to hit, when the man disappeared and lightning once again crackled through the air. Erza followed the magic power through the air over to the altar, where the man reappeared standing over the statues of her team, and the still limp body of Evergreen.  
“Tell me Titania, did you know that her eyes worked when she was unconscious? The other two’s eye magic don’t work unless they are there to control it, but hers does. Lucky for her, because the rest of her magic is just useless to me.”  
Erza was still shaking in anger, but she ran over to where Gray and Natsu lay on the floor, completely unconscious. How had he managed to take two of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail out so easily?  
“What have you done to them?”  
Her voice was hoarse as she was trying to fight back tears. Placing both of her hands out, the one on Natsu started to burn as the one on Gray felt like it was gaining frostbite. Whatever had happened to them, their magic was going haywire. The man chuckled to himself and looked down at the redhead splayed on the floor.  
“Well, you know your telepath, Warren is it? He specialises in communication telepathy. Not all telepaths use the same strain of magic. I specialise in finding people's desires, their hatred and everything that they fear. And then I can manipulate them. They are currently in their own fantasies, their own nightmares. Got to get them out of the running somehow, right?”

* * *

Gray found himself back on the roof of Phantom Lord’s guildhall, rain pouring down around him so heavy he could barely see. He could sense Juvia to his right more than anything else. He wanted to turn around to look at her properly, but his vision was entirely taken up by the demon in front of him.  
Deliora.  
The hulking form of the demon towered over the roof, dwarfing the two wizards in comparison. Gray felt a fear building up in his chest, and fell to his knees. They didn’t stand a chance against this monster.  
“Gray-sama!”  
Juvia’s voice broke through his fears, and he finally managed to turn his head to the side. She was still stood, throwing attack after attack at the beast stood in front of her. He marvelled at her determination, as each attack hit its target just as she had intended. But no matter how many attacks he absorbed, the monster didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch.  
“Gray-sama! To have any chance of beating this thing, we need to join our magical power together! We need to perform a unison raid!”  
Gray closed his eyes and tried to compose himself. This girl was so determined, almost as if she didn’t know how powerful the demon was. When he opened them again, he knew what he had to do. He slowly rose to his feet and began to make his way over to where Juvia was standing, before winding his arm around her. They had done this before, and they could do it again. Between the two of them, anything was possible.  
Juvia smiled up at him, a smile that could always lighten his heart. Their fingers intertwined as they prepared to join their magic together and fight the opponent in front of them.  
He could feel their magic power rising, swirling around them and in between them, and matched his voice to hers.   
“UNISON RA-“  
They were part way through the last word when Deliora made his attack. A huge claw knocked them back, skidding across the tiled roof, made easier by the rain allowing them to slip further than they could in the dry. Gray could feel his stomach being torn apart, but it was nothing compared to the tug on his arm where he felt Juvia’s fingers still wrapped in his.  
He didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see what he knew was happening. A scream met his ears from behind him, and he finally opened his eyes to see the predicament they were in.  
Juvia was hanging from his arm over the ledge of the roof, mirroring their first meeting almost too perfectly. The only problem was, this time, he was far more injured than he was before.  
“Juvia.”  
His voice sounded strained even to himself. The girl below looked up to him, blue eyes brimming with tears. Thunder clattered above him, the result of her heightened emotions. He scrambled to try and get purchase on the wet tiles, but to no avail. There was no way he was going to be able to pull her back up on his own.  
“Juvia, I need you to hold on tight for me. I’ll get you up here, I promise.”  
Her face turned into a smile, and her voice sounded through the rain as clear as if she was sat right next to him.  
“Gray-sama? Could you tell Juvia something? Do you love her?”  
Gray gulped. Now really wasn’t the time for this, but he knew he had to tell her the truth some time. Maybe if he told her now, it would help them both continue to fight.  
“Yes, Juvia. I love you.”  
Juvia’s face lit up, tears overflowing her eyes as she closed them in the broadest smile he had ever seen. Gray couldn’t help but smile back. The woman in his arms was perfect.  
“Thank you, Gray-sama. Juvia is happy now.”  
And with that, her hand turned to water and slipped through his. Gray was paralysed in shock as he watched Juvia fall down from the rooftop, unable to even call her name. She was smiling all the way down until her body hit the floor and separated into a million tiny water droplets, which interspersed with the rain falling from the sky.  
Gray finally managed to move, turning over onto his back and staring up into the rain as it slowed to a halt. The sun emerged from beyond the clouds, shining a halo around the monster in front of him. Struggling to his feet, he did the one thing his sorrow-laden mind could think of. Filling his thoughts with the image of Juvia, he prepared to perform the Iced Shell.

* * *

The whole world was burning, with a fire so hot even Natsu couldn’t stand it. He had tried to eat the flames surrounding him, but to no avail. Whatever these flames were, they weren’t natural.  
The city was in ruins around them, and if he hadn’t had spent so much time in it growing up he never would have known it was the remains of Magnolia. He hadn’t seen any of his guild mates, but he knew in his heart that they were all dead. Tears streamed down his face as he stood back up, facing the Dragon which had attacked out of nowhere.  
It was far bigger than any Dragon he had ever seen, even Igneel. He had been trying to bring it down, but at this moment in time, it wasn’t happening. He was a fire wizard trying to take down a fire dragon, and it was impossible to defeat him.  
He tried to build up the last of his magic power. Even if he was the last member of Fairy Tail left, he would go down fighting. He was not the kind of person to lay down and die on the floor. He was building up another attack when he heard a familiar scream from behind him.  
His magical power dissipated almost immediately at the sound of the screaming, and he turned around to follow his ears. He knew that if his senses weren’t heightened he would have no chance of hearing her. He started to run towards the source of the scream, ducking under as much rubble as possible to try and evade the dragon behind him. It wasn’t long before he picked up the scent of who he was looking for, and he sped up again. She wasn’t too far away.  
The noise of the Dragon disappeared behind him, and he knew that he had lost it for a while. It would be back soon, though, he was sure of that. But hopefully, he had just enough time, to do what he had to do.  
He picked his way through the rubble which he vaguely thought may have been part of the cathedral once and saw exactly what he was looking for.

Lucy was sat in the graveyard of the cathedral, the remains of Erza cradled in her lap. The requip mage was badly burned, and Natsu could see she was missing one of her arms, but by far the worst injury was the huge shard of metal that was sticking out of her chest. Tears welled up in Natsu’s eyes. He had known she was dead, but seeing her body right in front of her was a different matter entirely. He ran over to where the two girls were sat, falling to his knees in front of them. Lucy had tears streaming down her face, where they mingled with blood.  
“Lucy…”  
Her face turned upwards, and Natsu could see that her face had been hit by a load of shrapnel, and both of her eyes had been damaged to the point where he was sure she must be blind. Now he was closer to her, he could see that both of her legs were missing, one of which was laying not too far away. The other was nowhere to be seen.  
“Natsu? Is that you?”  
Her voice was quiet, hoarse from all the screaming. Her left hand reached out, and Natsu took it in his.  
“Yeah, Luce. It’s me.”  
A sob escaped from her lips, and she grabbed a hold of Erza’s corpse tighter.  
“An explosion took us both out. I managed to get over to her, but she had stopped moving. I think she’s dead.”  
Natsu couldn’t speak. How could he tell her that one of their best friends lay dead in her arms?  
“Natsu?”  
Her voice was raised now, and he could hear the anger below it. She couldn’t have long left to live, and it was almost as if the yelling was making her lose her life quicker. But whatever it was, she wanted to get it out.  
“How could you let this happen? How can you call yourself a Dragon Slayer when you can’t even kill a single Dragon?”

* * *

 

Erza stood to her feet again, standing to face the man in front of her. He looked tired, worn out, and she knew she could defeat him quite easily. She just had to time it right.  
“So why haven’t you done it for me? Are you really that cocky that you think you can take me down without any tricks?”  
The man laughed, a laugh that tilted his entire head back and wracked his whole body. He descended into a coughing fit, and Erza took her time to strike. She ran forward as fast as she could, and rose her sword into the air. The man looked up, and a few seconds later he had turned into lightning and moved away.  
“You know, Erza, both Mirajane and Evergreen were holding out hope that you would find them. They weren’t even scared. ‘Erza will come and save us’. The undisputed Queen of the Fairies. Titania. I was actually getting excited to fight you. Although, I say that. Three of your ‘friends’ were super excited about Laxus being able to save them, and he did nothing at all.”  
Erza growled, sprinting forward and requipped into her Thunder Empress armour. If he was using Laxus’ power, it would be the best thing to fight against him with. The man turned into lightning again, this time shooting up into the rafters of the church. Erza stood on the ground and shouted up to him, voice filling with rage.  
“Come back down here! And answer my question!”  
The man chuckled again, holding onto one of the support pillars. His skin looked badly burned already, he had obviously been fighting not long ago and Erza was annoyed with herself that she hadn’t been able to take him down yet.  
“Your will is far too great for me to be able to take you down as easily as these two. Plus, I always wanted a challenge. And this is the perfect opportunity to try out my new powers.”  
Erza watched as Mira’s takeover magic started to take shape, and requipped into her black wing armour. She needed to get up there as soon as possible. Her wings took off, and before she could get up to his level, his takeover had completed. Erza had never seen Satan Soul on a male before, and it definitely confused her for a second. He was wearing an open waistcoat over red and yellow trousers, and he wasn’t hanging around. Erza had just come level with him when his hands clasped to the side and a black ball formed between them.  
“Soul Extinction.”  
Erza didn’t even have time to move before the magic hit her, and she tumbled head over feet out of the air, skidding across the floor. Her entire body ached from the impact, but she struggled back to her feet as soon as she could. With a scream, she took to the air again, but as soon as she made the attack, Lin fell to the floor. She managed to push off one of the rafters, adjusting her course so that she was heading towards him faster and faster. Magic tiles appeared around him again, and when they disappeared Erza found herself face to face with Elfman's Lizardman take over. Her sword clattered into his scales, before being deflected off onto the floor. Erza pulled her sword back to swing again before a fist smacked into the side of her face and she once again found herself flying across the room before slamming into a pillar and once again collapsing to the floor. She looked up towards her opponent, about to stand up when he said something that chilled her to the bones.  
“Lightning Dragon’s Jaw!”  
She saw the attack coming towards her in slow motion and closed her eyes. There was nothing more she could do now, anyway. As soon as the attack hit, it sent electricity through all of her muscles and she screamed out in pain. When she could finally open her eyes, she looked up into the eyes of the man and saw he was grinning. She started to struggle to her feet, but before she could regain fighting again, the man had grabbed onto her shoulder, and they were both teleported again.

* * *

 

A quick look around the room told her she was in trouble. She could see all the Strauss siblings and the remaining members of the Raijinshuu in glass tubes, akin to those the Tartaros guild were using. She moved her head slightly and saw a familiar body floating in the one next to her.  
“Laxus…”  
The man from the church was still standing over her and bent down to lift her up. She tried to struggle, but to no avail. All the energy seemed to have disappeared out of her.  
“This is the problem, Erza.”  
The man wasn’t even struggling as he placed her on a table, and began to tie down her wrists.  
“I don’t need to beat you entirely. Just weaken you enough to be able to teleport you. The teleportation disorientates you, makes it easier to defeat you.”  
Once he was finished tying her down, he turned around to a table behind him, and Erza struggled to see what he was doing.  
“That was Laxus and Mira’s undoing, you see? If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t have had a chance against them. I knew you would come looking for me, so I was lucky I managed to get Laxus’ power before you came here.”  
He turned back around, a long needle in his hand which he wasted no time in burying into Erza’s arm. She winced at the scratch, but whatever was in it worked in her system quickly and it wasn’t long before her eyelids started to close.  
“And you brought me two Dragon Slayers too… how kind of you.”  
But Erza wasn’t paying attention anymore. Her minds filled with images of blue hair, brown eyes and a red tattoo. She just hoped that she could see him again.  
“Jellal…”

* * *

Levy woke from her sleep, and immediately looked for Gajeel. Panic rose in her throat when he wasn’t there, but it soon dawned on her where she was. Of course, he wouldn’t be there, she was in the guilds infirmary, trying to get some rest so she was more effective in her research.  
It was then that an idea hit her. Standing up and running into the main guild hall, she headed to the wall of those who had disappeared.   
“Bickslow, Lisanna, Mirajane and Elfman, then Freed and Evergreen…”  
“And now Laxus.”  
Gajeel’s voice so close to her ear startled her, but she simply leant back into his chest. Looking up to him, she turned around to tell him her theory.  
“What’s the thing you think of when you’re just about to die?”

To say the statement caught Gajeel off guard was an understatement. Panic rose slightly, and he grabbed Levy to him. She couldn’t be taken; she was their last hope.  
“Gajeel, calm down. I just realised, the pattern of people that were taken. The last thing you think about before you’re about to die is the person you love the most, whether you’ll ever see them again.”  
Gajeel released his grip on her slightly, and more people from the guild gathered around them, interested in what she had to say.  
“Think about it. Bickslow went first, followed by Lisanna. She means the most to him. Then Lisanna thought of her siblings, they thought of their partners and finally Freed and Evergreen thought of their idol. Laxus.  
“I read in my research that in order to teleport someone from a distance, you need to be able to visualise them in great detail. He would only be able to get that from someone who knows them well. And who knows them better than the person they mean the most to?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honour of the 40th chapter, have a long one this time. Yes, I realise there is very little Gajevy. It just happened that way, I am so sorry.
> 
> I also realised from a couple of the comments that I didn't make it clear that Laxus had been taken, not just going by himself. I didn't mean it to, but it may have made this chapter a bit better. So, take it how you like.
> 
> Thank you once again to everyone who comments on these, I am serious they make my entire day when I read them <3\. Carry on being awesome and I will see you next week <3


	39. Chapter 39

It wasn't long until Levy had told her theory to the remaining members of the guild, and the majority of them agreed. The pattern certainly had been holding true for the past disappearances, and it was more than anyone else could guess at. Levy smiled meekly, it was something anyway. She went back to sit at her table where she had been collating information and got straight back into it. This was going to be won increasingly by information, rather than anything else. This was one war where she would be instrumental to the victory.

Gajeel sat on the other side of the guild, watching Levy out the corner of his eye. His Shrimp really was incredible, and each minute watching her work cemented that in his head. Cana was sat to the side of him, trying desperately to get information from her cards. He wasn't sure how they worked at all, but he hoped beyond hope that she could find something with them. He certainly had faith in her magic, if nothing else. She had other cards scattered around, with members of other guilds painted across them. Communication cards, she had said. While Erza was gone, she was keeping an eye on them with their continued searches for the missing Fairy Tail members. Gajeel was more thankful for them than he could say. They could search far more of Fiore with their help than the Fairy Tail members alone could.

The day dragged on, with more Fairy Tail members reporting back from places around the country through Warren, and Gajeel sighed as no one got any closer to finding the missing guild members. He was just waiting to hear back from Erza's team and hoped that not only had they found their fellow guild members but that they had also taken down the man who had caused the guild so much pain. He was lost in his own thoughts, trying to calculate the odds of one of Fairy Tail's strongest teams going against a man who possessed the power of two others when Levy came over to him.

"Gajeel, I want to pitch an idea to you."

The Dragon Slayer smiled at the formal way she approached him, but simply indicated for her to take a seat opposite him. Right now it was a time for business, not socialising. Cana looked up from her cards as well, happy for the distraction from her consistent failures.

"We all know that this man has been gaining a ridiculous amount of magical power now, along with the abilities of some of our most powerful mages. I think one of the best chances we have to defeat him is if we remove all of his magical power first, but we would need to find someone who can fight without using any magical power. How good do you think you are at fighting without using any magical power?"

Gajeel mulled it over for a while. No doubt it would be difficult adjusting to not being able to use his magic, but he could certainly try to do it. He was definitely in good shape, but whether that could translate to beating someone down without using his heightened power his magic gave him was a different matter. He must have taken too long to deliberate, because Levy interjected to explain her plan further.

"My thinking is, if we write a rune trap we can drain all of his magical power. It is going to be weird for you at first because you will be affected by the drain, but he's going to be affected so much harder. He's gotten used to having such an increased magical power, and then he's going to have to deal with having none of it. If I have time as well, I can give you trials of losing all your magic power to help you get used to the feeling before you ever get close to him."

Gajeel nodded. It was a good idea. If it did disorientate the man, he might have a chance. Lin was big, sure, but Gajeel was bigger. And he was willing to bet that he had been a lot more fights than the rich boy. He cracked his knuckles. He would need to get practicing fighting without using any magic as soon as possible.

"I'll need to go to Freed's apartment to try and find the rune trap I will need. My runes aren't anywhere near strong enough, but I am hoping that he has written everything that I need down."

Gajeel nodded again, immediately back into business mode. Make sure Levy was able to do the rune trap first, then think about his own training. He stood up, making his way over to the bar, being trailed by both Levy and Cana. He sat himself down on one of the stools and managed to grab the attention of the girl at the bar.

* * *

 

"I need you to find out where Freed lives. Levy needs to find some stuff out and his place is the best place to look."

Kinana nodded, before pulling out a thick binder where Mirajane kept all of the information on the members of the guild. Placing it down on the table, she flicked through the papers until she found the right one.

"Here we go. He lives in an apartment with Bickslow at the edge of Magnolia."

Gajeel held his hand out for the information, before pausing for a second. He remembered a couple of days before, along with five bottles filled with a dark purple liquid that he had been carrying with the utmost care.

"Hang on, I went to Bickslow's apartment a few days ago, and there was no way Freed was living there. There was only one bed, for one, and for two I highly doubt someone that pompous would live in the mess that Bickslow left."

Kinana smiled, before picking up a few of the glasses that needed cleaning.

"Bickslow got his own apartment a couple of days ago, and he goes there with Lisanna. Something about Freed getting annoyed with all the noise they were making. But Bickslow gets awful night terrors, and he needs someone around when he's asleep to help calm him down. So he's still living at Freed's house when Lisanna isn't around to stay with him through the night."

Gajeel, Levy and Cana all stared at the purple haired barmaid, amazed with the information she was freely telling them. They didn't think anyone was close enough to Bickslow to know that, let alone Kinana. She simply shrugged, however, before turning her back to get some drinks for Macao and Wakaba.

"I work with Mirajane. We gossip a lot."

Gajeel turned around to the two mages that had come along with him to the bar, before handing them Freed's address.

"Cana, you're going with Levy. We don't know if he is going to attack us while we are weak, that's what I would have done. Oh, and I'm borrowing your boyfriend. I have some training to do."

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short one this week, for I am the worst person.  
> Also, I found a massive plot hole, that led to some Bickslow character building. Sometimes my idiocy pays off. Shout out to anyone who saw it.


	40. Chapter 40

Levy walked along the road to the address Kinana had provided them, Cana’s arm draped around her. The taller girl was trying to pass it off as a flirty joke, but Levy could tell that she just wanted some skin on skin contact and all of the comfort that it provided her. Jet and Droy had been determined to come along with the two girls as well, and Levy jumped at the opportunity. It seemed like years since she had last got to spend time with them, and even though she wished it was under better circumstances, it made her more than a little happy that they had decided to come along. At that moment, they were walking along slightly behind her, Jet moaning that if he used his speed magic he would have been able to get both of them to the apartment much quicker. Levy just grinned and joked that if he took Droy there first they would follow. Droy moaned at the comment. Even before he had put on weight, he had hated being carried around by Jet. The speed had always made him feel queasy. Jet looked at him in anticipation, before sighing and getting back to walking at a normal speed.

* * *

 

Freed didn’t live in the poor side of town, but it wasn’t exactly rich either. Despite getting closer to Freed over the last couple of months, Levy had never actually been to where he lived. She tried to imagine what an apartment shared by Bickslow and Freed would look like, but her brain struggled to even contemplate it. The two men were such opposites, the fact they were on the same team at all confused her most days. She checked the paper again before Cana pulled her closer to her side and started to speak to her.  
“Baby Blue, I have a question.”  
Levy looked up to the taller woman, before heading off towards the address on the piece of paper. A nod up to Cana was all the Card Mage needed to know she should carry on.  
“You’re putting our hopes on this Rune trap stopping this maniac, but he has taken Freed’s magic. Surely he is going to be able to write himself out of it?”  
Levy shook her head, before taking a deep breath in preparation to explain what was going on. She stepped slightly closer to where Cana had her arm around her.   
“The thing about Freed’s magic is that not only do you need the specific magic power to write the higher order rune traps, you need the knowledge too. With all the knowledge in the world, I will never make traps as good a Freed’s because I don’t have that specific magic. And even if you had the most powerful rune magic in the world, you won’t be able to do anything without the knowledge of how to write the most effective Rune Traps. He’s going to be as stuck as anyone else in there.”  
Jet and Droy high fived behind both of the girls. Of course, Levy would have taken that into account. She was just that intelligent. She would never have let anyone get the better of her that easily. The only thing that they didn’t believe about her whole explanation was that she could never be as good as Freed. They knew if they really wanted to, she could surpass him easily.  
“Levy, how long do you think it is going to take you to learn how to write the enchantment?”  
Levy considered Jet’s question for a second, before giving him an honest answer. She knew that he and Droy would try and talk her down in her estimation, but she could just ignore them for now.  
“It honestly depends on how many notes Freed has taken on the specific enchantment I need. It’s a relatively high-level trap, so I imagine he has written quite a few if I know Freed. It should take me a couple of days tops to write one good enough to trap Lin inside, but only a couple of minutes to make one that gets rid of magic so Gajeel can practice.”  
The mention that it would only take her a couple of days to make the basic trap placated the two male members of Shadow Gear a little, and they simply smiled at each other and went back to walking in silence as the group walked onto Freed’s street.

* * *

 

Freed's house was exactly how Levy had imagined it. The main room alone was about twice the size that her small apartment was, with the walls lined with books. Jet and Droy immediately ran over to them, but Levy spoke to them immediately.  
"We're looking for books that Freed has written in. These are just reference books. They might be useful if he hasn't written exactly what we want down, but we should try there first."  
Jet and Droy nodded, before going to sit on the two sofas in the middle of the room. They had spent enough time doing translation jobs with Levy to know it was best to just leave her alone. Levy and Cana began to move through the apartment. There was a kitchen on the left, as pristine as the rest of the apartment, with three doors in front of them and one door to the right. The two girls tried the room on the right first. They knew as soon as they opened the door that it wasn't the correct room. Metal helmets, dark capes and wooden dolls littered all available surfaces, and the bed was messy and unmade. It was also the absolutely tiny, barely any space apart from the bed. Levy and Cana looked at each other, before closing the door almost immediately.   
The far door on the right opened up to a room almost three times the size of Bickslow. A double bed stood in the centre, a wardrobe to the left and the rest of the room was completely empty. Levy dashed over to a small notepad on the nightstand and flipped through it before putting it back.  
"Not in there. The handwriting is pretty messy so I think that's just where he scribbles down things when he thinks of them in the night."  
Cana nodded, and the two girls quickly backed out of the room. The next room along was a bathroom, just as neat and tidy as the rest of the department, and the girls looked at each other in hope before opening the final door.  
Levy's face lit up as the door opened. The room had a desk in the corner, but the rest was full of aisles upon aisles of bookshelves from floor to ceiling. Moving further into the room, Levy could see labels on the end of all of the shelves. She secretly thanked Freed for his obsessive compulsive tendencies and ran quickly through the shelves until she grabbed what she needed.  
"Cana, come help me carry these. He has quite a few."  
Cana looked at Levy with despair as she pulled out around 50 notepads, and started to hand them to her. As soon as her arms were fully laden with books, Levy grabbed a couple more before turning to leave the apartment.  
"Let's get back to the guild so I can get working on these ASAP."

* * *

 

Levy was almost bouncing up and down with excitement when they got back to the guild. She had finally been able to make a breakthrough in how to defeat the man who had so far evaded them, and now she had the means to do it as well. It wouldn’t take long to go through Freed’s notes, she knew he was especially obsessive about making them legible and easy to go through at the drop of a hat. They were less than 100 metres away from the guild when a ringing noise came from Cana’s bag, and she rummaged through it in order to find what she needed. Levy looked over as she grabbed a card, with a guild symbol that she recognised pictured on the front. Cana pressed into the middle, and suddenly a panicked voice emerged from the other end.  
“Fairy Tail, can you hear us?”  
It sounded like a young girl, and Levy knew she had heard the voice before but couldn’t quite place it.  
“Yeah, this is Cana.”  
“Jellal has disappeared. We were out looking for your missing members and he just… vanished. His clothes are still there, but his body isn’t.”  
Cana swore, before replying down the card.  
“I’m not at the guild right now, and I have to get back. I will call you back as soon as I know more. Keep looking.”  
Cana put the card back into her bag and broke into a sprint. Levy followed soon after and felt the gust of wind as Jet got to the guild first.

* * *

 

As soon as Levy got into the door, she heard Gajeel’s roar from the centre of the hall. He was holding onto a coat, and as he looked over to Levy she could see tears streaming down his face. His voice was smaller than Levy had ever heard it, and she almost didn’t hear him at all.  
“Juvia’s gone.”  
Levy dropped the books she had been carrying. Wth both Jellal and Juvia gone, it meant only one thing. They had lost Team Natsu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean... you all knew what was going to happen, right?
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their comments, I read every one and they make my day.
> 
> See you all next week <3


	41. Chapter 41

Levy really wasn't sure what to do. Gajeel was devastated by the disappearance of Juvia, and she knew that out of everyone else in the guild, he was closest to the water mage. She had never questioned just how long they had known each other, but Gajeel had hinted it had been a long time. He had even told her he viewed the woman as a younger sister. He was sat in the middle of the guild, holding her hat in his hands, tears streaming down his face as he clutched at the fabric.

Levy didn't know whether to go over to him whether it was dangerous to approach him right now. She knew that he wouldn't hurt her, but she didn't know if she could stand being rejected either. Instead she sat at the edge of the guild with Cana, as the older girl was in conversation with the other guilds. So far only Jellal had disappeared, and no matter how many times she insisted that they stayed safe, Meredy said they had spread apart to try and find their leader.

"Cobra said he could hear him not too far away. He's headed off to try and find him as soon as possible."

"Meredy! You have to tell him to stop. I know Cobra is good but there is no way he would be able to beat this man on his own, he took down the entirety of Team Natsu all at once! We have our own plan, and I promise you we will get Jellal back to you, but if you do anything hasty you're just going to make it more difficult for us."

Meredy's eyes turned down to the floor through the lacrima, and she scratched the back of her head. She looked embarrassed, but Cana just pressed for a more complete answer.

"You see; he won't listen to me. All of them respect Jellal, and they'll listen to him but not to me."

Cana sighed, before thanking Meredy for her time and preparing to contact another guild for an update. Bacchus slid over to her, suggesting that he could help talk to the master of his own guild. Levy had never seen him sober for such an extended period of time, but he hadn't touched a drop since this whole ordeal had started. He had a bruise starting to develop on his jaw from where he had been training with Gajeel earlier, but assured Levy that he didn't mind. He would continue doing all that he could to help Fairy Tail out.

* * *

 

Levy was torn out of her thoughts by Gajeel appearing at her side. His eyes were still rimmed with red from where he had been crying, but the tears had all but disappeared from his face. Instead, his jaw was set firm as he walked over to her, and reaching out to rest his hand on her shoulder.

"Levy. Can you write up a rune trap where my magical power is gone. I need to start practicing."

Levy nodded, picking up the first of the books she had taken from Freed's apartment. She opened the first page to find a list of the contents stuck to the front cover and smiled. It was just like Freed to organise his notes so well. She really would have to thank him as soon as he got back.

The specific rune trap would be easy, as neither of the people encased within it would be trying to escape. She took out her light pen, and started to write the runes around the guild. It only took a miniscule amount of her magic, and she knew that if it was Freed writing it he wouldn't even notice the decrease. She balked at the amount of magical power it would take to write the full trap when it came to it.

As soon as she had finished, Gajeel nodded to her before entering the barrier. As soon as he had stepped through, he felt all the magic drain from his body. He groaned in pain. It wasn't like the magical blocking cuffs that he had used, which kept the power inside him and just simply made him unable to use it, this barrier actually drained all the power from his body. He fell to his knees, feeling weak from the depreciation of power. Levy took a step towards him, but he raised his hand to stop her.

"I need to learn how to get through this. I'll be ok, just let me be."

Bacchus stood up from beside Cana and walked his way over to the trap that Levy had set up. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the trap and took his turn to groan in pain and fall to his knees. Cana looked over, concern etched on his face before Bacchus looked up and smiled at her. If Gajeel was going through this, then he could go through it too.

"It should get better with time" Levy offered, before taking a seat next to Cana. "You'll get used to being without the magic soon, and then each time you enter a barrier it will be less difficult than the one before."

Gajeel grunted, leaning onto his right fist in front of him. He looked up to Levy, before grinning at her.

"Levy. You need to work on strengthening these. We'll be ok."

Levy smiled slightly, and nodded to her boyfriend. She collected all the books from Freed, along with some of her own, before sitting down and starting to work through what she needed.

* * *

 

Bacchus was the first to stand from his knees as he got used to the lack of magic in his body. He stared down at Gajeel, before offering him a hand. Sure, they were going to be fighting in a minute anyway, but they were still comrades. At least, Bacchus saw him as such. They had drank together, after all.

"You sure you wanna do this? I do a lot of my fighting without my magic, you know."

Gajeel nodded, taking the man's hand and getting to his feet slowly. His body still felt weak from the lack of magic, but at least he could still stand.

"A lot of my magic includes physical punches and kicks anyway. The weirdest thing is gonna be adjusting to not being able to extend my limbs, that's all."

The two men stood opposite each other, staring at each other as they did. They were both already breathing heavily from the exertion the spell had put on them, but at least it was getting easier. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Gajeel nodded to Bacchus and raised his fists to his chin. Bacchus may have more of a martial art style to his fighting, but Gajeel was a boxer through and through.

He started off with a jab to the left, which Bacchus avoided with ease. In one smooth motion, he span around clockwise, before bringing his right arm around full circle to smash into Gajeel's shoulder. The taller man grunted in pain, clutching onto where he had been hit while Bacchus backed away.

"Sorry, man. Was that too much?"

Gajeel waved him away, shaking out both of his arms. The strain of the magic loss was almost non-existent now, and he could focus on fighting alone.

"No, don't worry about it. I need to get used to it. Hit me with all you've got."

Bacchus got back into a protective stance, and Gajeel jabbed with his left hand, anticipating Bacchus' dodge. As soon as the man moved to the right to dodge, Gajeel put all of his power into his right hand and smashed it into the other man's shoulder. Bacchus toppled slightly, before righting himself and using the momentum to slam his hand into Gajeel's forearm. Gajeel took the blow, moving back onto his left foot and returning his hands to his jaw. He grinned at the man in front of him. This was shaping up to be an interesting fight.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter of my Bixanna sister fic to this story was uploaded on Thursday - go check it out if you haven't already! Just so everyone knows, this fic isn't going to be affected by the addition of another.
> 
> Keep on with all your comments, they make me so happy to read!


	42. Chapter 42

The rune trap took a lot less time than Levy ever would have anticipated when she first came up with the idea. Freed's notes were much better laid out and organised than even she had thought, and it took her through almost step by step instructions. She would have to thank that man as soon as they reunited. She never would have thought him to have instructions this basic, and she would have to ask him once this whole thing blew over. Not that she was complaining.

Gajeel and Bacchus had alternated between their sparring and stopping for a break. The two were pretty evenly matched, despite their difference in styles, and every time one managed to knock down the other they would leave the barrier and re-enter in order to practice getting all of their magic drained. The first time it had happened, Gajeel would never have imagined he would eventually get used to it. But by the fifth time, the drop in magical power was almost routine, and it took him mere seconds to adjust to the sensation and start the fight with Bacchus. Now he was sat next to Levy, watching her work as he took a drink in between the rounds of their fights. Finally, after what must have been hours of working, she closed the book in front of her, and turned around to him.

"Right. I think I've finished. Are you ready to learn how to write it?"

Gajeel looked at her in pure confusion, and she looked vaguely guilty. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she shifted from left to right as if she was trying to get comfortable. He didn't want to ask, but he knew that he would have to take the plunge sooner or later.

"What do you mean I have to learn how to write it? Aren't you doing it?"

* * *

 

They were distracted from their conversation by Macao shouting from his seat at the bar. All four mages at the table looked up, to see that Kinana had disappeared from her post behind the bar. A glass had shattered on the floor, the beer she was pouring spraying across the wooden planks as her dress came to a stop from where it had fallen as she disappeared.

"Does that mean…"

"Yeah." Cana interrupted Bacchus, staring down at the cards in front of her. "He's got Cobra."

"Which means he's got four Dragon Slayers now." Gajeel added into the conversation, voice monotone as he turned to look at Cana's cards as they lay spread on the table. "We need to tell the rest of Crime Sorciere."

Levy kept staring at the space where Kinana had disappeared from, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Kinana didn't even have any magic, not that Lin would know that until he found her. She didn't even want to imagine what would happen to her once he found out she was useless to him. The only reason he was even keeping the others alive was to keep a hold on their magical power. She dreaded what he would do to the poor girl. This had gone too far now. She had to finish it as soon as possible.

* * *

 

Levy called Gajeel closer to her, opening her own notebook where she had written the entire rune trap which they needed in order to trap Lin and steal his magic as he made his way over to her side of the table, and sat himself down in the empty space next to her. Bacchus followed, sitting herself down on the other side of the Script Mage. When they both looked up at him, he shrugged at them before explaining.

"I know it hasn't affected our guild, but I think that I can help out. I can fight pretty well even without my magic, and two against one is always better odds, right? We shouldn't fight fair cause this guy sure as hell hasn't been."

Levy nodded, before looking over at Cana.

"Did you want to go along as well?"

Cana looked up from her cards for a second, before shaking her head.

"No. We need someone capable of fighting here, in case anyone gets wind of the main powerhouses of the guild being gone. I won't be as useful as these two guys, anyway. And on top of all that, we need someone to keep in contact with all the other guilds. We already know he's hit Crime Sorciere, we don't know if he is going to go after any of the other guilds as well."

The three other mages all nodded. Cana was more intelligent than she usually let on, and they were glad she was still seemingly thinking straight. Levy sighed, opening the book in front of her, and preparing to try and teach the two complete novices either side of her how to write an enchantment as well as Freed.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - I know this chapter is shorter, but it really does make sense to break here. I hope you can see why when the next chapter comes out!
> 
> Thanks to Gajeelswoman for beta-ing this for me, and allowing me to bounce ideas off her head. Couldn't love you more <3
> 
> And once again thanks to everyone else for commenting and letting me know what you think! I love you all too!


	43. Chapter 43

Levy stepped off the train, checking the small piece of paper in her pocket as she did. This was definitely the correct place. The station was tiny, just a tiny room doubling as both a ticket office and a place to buy select refreshments. She swapped the last jewels in her pocket for a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate for the journey, before setting off on the long dust road towards the small address written on her piece of paper.

She had been told the walk would be a couple of hours long, and she settled herself in for the long haul. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and not on where she was walking or what was going to happen when she got there. She felt tears prickle at the back of her eyes at the memory of what her friends were going through but pushed them back. This was not going to help them at all.

After around an hour of walking, she heard a small voice coming from her pocket and pulled out a small card, which flashed to inform her Cana was on the other end. Pressing Cana's face on the front, she held it in front of her and spoke.

"Hey, Cana. I'm here."

Cana's voice came through the card as if she was stood right in front of her, and Levy felt her heart jump at the familiar tone. It made her feel slightly less alone.

"Hey, Levy. Listen, I just heard from Sabertooth. The Twin Dragons have disappeared from their mission, no one's heard from them in two days and they're unreachable through their lacrima."

Levy nodded. It felt horrible, but the disappearance of the two dragon slayers made her plan more likely to work. She gripped onto the card and stared forward onto the giant expanse of road that lay in front of her.

"Ok, thank you Cana. Did the boys get off Okay?"

There was a slight hesitation, and Cana's voice came over in a slight stammer.

"Yeah. Yeah, they did."

Levy gripped the card closer but didn't want to stop moving forward. Time was of the essence, and she didn't have the luxury to waste it.

"Cana, are you alright?"

She heard a sigh from the other side of the cards, and could almost see the card mage bury her face in her hands on the other end.

"I'm fine, Baby Blue. I was just thinking. We've lost all the powerhouses of the guild. If this goes wrong, it's the end of Fairy Tail. I don't want to lose you all."

Levy stayed silent. She couldn't say anything to assuage the fears of the older girl because she was feeling exactly the same thing. The entire hopes of the guild were resting on her shoulders, and the knowledge was tearing her apart from the inside.

"We'll be fine, Cana. We always are."

* * *

The church was cold and bore the scars of a battle that Levy knew had taken place less than a week before. She pulled her coat in closer around her, the shattered windows offering no protection against the wind that was blowing through them.

As she stepped into the room, she looked around for any clues as to whether her target was there. It was a gamble coming here, she knew that, but she planned on the predictability of her enemy giving him away. This had worked for him once before, of course he would use it again. It would be utter madness not to, and so far, his actions had been very thought through and organised. This church was the meeting place between him and his victims, and as good a place to start as any.

As she approached the centre of the church her eyes were pulled to the side. The flagstone floor had been burned, and if she squinted it looked to be in the shape of a human body.

"Natsu…"

Kneeling down next to it, she ran her hands across the black stone only for it to crumble to ashes in her hands. What had happened to him to make him burn so hot he charred the stone? Standing again, she turned to the altar at the front of the church. Straining her ears for any sign of any other life in the building, she walked towards it. She heard nothing but her own footsteps, and a faint rhythmic thud that she thought may be her own heart. Her left foot lifted, about to carry her onto the raised platform when she stopped. Something shimmered out of the corner of her eye, something that wouldn't be noticed if you hadn't spent your life studying them. Runes.

Crouching once again, she inspected the trap which had been set up. It was crude, the kind of trap that you found in books for people wanting to pull pranks on their friends. It would sound a magical alarm to the writer as soon as someone stepped over it. She swallowed her fear, and fixed the faces of her fallen guild members as she stood up. With one final breath, she took the final step forward and broke the barrier of the trap.

* * *

Nothing happened at first. She held her breath, ensuring that she would hear the man enter the room and make the first attack. It wasn't likely, but maybe she could stop this before it went any further. She had been considered for S Class once, after all. And that was before all the training with Gajeel.

"Think you can take me down, little girl?"

Her breath hitched in her throat. She hadn't even felt the increase of magical power until he spoke, and when he did it hit her like a brick wall.

Moving slowly, she turned to see her enemy. Levy tried not to shake in fear. This would be the most powerful wizard she had ever come across, and she would be facing him alone. Swallowing the last of her fear, she completed her rotation and stared at her opponent.

At first she didn't see anything, but after a few seconds she saw something move out of the corner of her eyes. Moving her head slightly, she saw one of the shadows behind one of the large stone pillars shifting, and taking an almost corporeal form. She took a step back as she realised that Lin was emerging from the shadows just like she had seen Rogue and Gajeel do at the Grand Magic Games.

He was just as tall as she remembered, and if it was possible even more muscular. He had lost his shirt entirely, and his trousers lay in tatters on the lower half of his body. Where his hair had been carefully braided before, it now fell around his face and matted in clumps. Strands had turned white, and twisted around where it had stayed its normal colour. She could see all of the tattoos covering his torso, but as she watched some of the words were covered by purple scales, to quickly be replaced by a switch to black scales and then white. Lightning sparked around him, and he grinned wide, showing teeth that Levy swore were sharper than before.

She opened her mouth, and her voice came out as little more than a whisper.

"You've lost control."

The man in front of her moved at such speed it was terrifying. If she hadn't grown up around Jet, she wasn't sure she ever would have been able to react in time, but as it was she shot up her hands, writing guard in the air as she did.

"Solid Script: Guard!"

The collision sent vibrations through her arms, and she looked up to see Erza's Demon Blade Crimson Sakura embedded half in her shield. She let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, thanking whoever was listening for the extra training she had gone through. She was sure that never would have held back the attack if she hadn't.

The man's face was close to hers, and Levy could feel the heat radiating off him. Just when it was about to burn her skin, the heat dissipated until it was freezing, but ststill,evy couldn't pull away.

"What did you say to me?"

His voice broke halfway through, deepening into an octave below. His eyes flickered with more lightning, and Levy finally found the strength to pull herself back to away from the man, and as soon as she was far enough back her defense dropped, and the man's sword clattered to the floor. He stood to his full height, towering over her as she stepped further back.

"I said you're losing control. You can't handle all of the different magic in your body and it's tearing your mind apart."

The man growled, and after taking a step back, he swiped one arm across his body and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"WATER SLICER!"

Levy threw up her Solid Script Fire, and managed to evaporate most of the water. The force of the blast pushed her back into the wall, but her spell had taken the sharp edge off the attack, and she managed to stand back to her feet in time to see Lin lean back, taking in a breath and she knew what was coming.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The water spell that she wrote was one of the fastest she had ever cast, and it managed to take the full force of the attack. She stood up tall again, breathing heavily at the amount of magic power she had already expended. Lin took another deep breath, and she prepared her spell for what was coming. She ran through her head. It could be any of the dragons apart from Iron at this point.

"White Dragon's Roar!"

Levy's mind worked at lightning speeds, and she wrote her spell in the air.

"Solid Script: Shadow!"

The shadows that formed in front of her absorbed the light that shot out of Lin's mouth, and as soon as the light disappeared dissipated into thin air. Lin was standing opposite her, wobbling on his feet from the force of his attack.

"You're a versatile little shrimp, aren't you? I never would have thought that someone as little as you would have that much strength."

Levy screamed, angered by the use of Gajeel's pet name for her. She knew that Lin was using it to rile her up, but she used the anger for her advantage the way she had seen her guild mates do many times before. Standing up again, she wrote her first attack in the air.

"Solid Script: Drill!"

The word spun towards her opponent, but in front of her eyes he turned into Elfman's Lizard Man form and took the attack in his stride. Levy shouted again, before writing her second attack. It was a spell she had never tried before, but one that she thought would be useful in this situation.

"Solid Script: Quake!"

The word erupted from her fingers, and with a sweeping motion of her arms she slammed the word to the floor. The entire floor shook, and within seconds the walls and ceiling began to break apart, and debris fell smashing to the floor. Where the word hit the tiles, cracks spread out and created holes big enough for her opponent to fall down. Looking up, she hoped to see the amount of damage her spells had done to Lin but her heart fell as soon as the image hit her brain.

Wings had sprouted from the man's back, and he was floating in mid-air. He was laughing maniacally, and Levy watched as he raised his arms and prepared to defend his next attack.

"Scales of the Poison Dragon!"

Levy threw up her guard again, but knew within seconds she had made a mistake. The scales moved their way around the words, and exploded onto her skin. Every inch the magic touched burned, and she fell to the floor in pain. Lifting her eyes up, she saw Lin land on the ground, another grin spreading across his face.

"You're going to add such a beautiful addition to my collection."

He moved over towards her, and Levy tried to struggle back up to standing. His foot came up to her chest, and pushed her over onto her back. Both of his hands extended in front of him, and Levy felt a wave of fear wash over her. His voice was lowered again, and Levy knew that Satan Soul had started to take over.

"Grand Chariot!"

Levy thought she blacked out before the spell even hit.

* * *

Levy awoke to chains binding her wrists above her head. Her entire body ached, and she didn't even try to move. She knew the entire front of her body would be bruised from Jellal's magic, and each breath shot pain through her torso. If she had to take a guess, she would say she had broken a few ribs.

Her eyes opened slowly, and she took in a dark room, shadows filling all of the corners that she could see. She almost shuddered at the thought of Lin hiding in any of the shadows, before remembering even the smallest movements would send more pain shooting throughout her body. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could see the form of a body strung up in the same position opposite her. Their hair was matted atop their head, and Levy could see dried blood clumping the strands together. A dark brown stain covered the front of a mint green shirt, and the fact the woman wasn't being held where her magic would continue to be accessible told Levy all she needed to know about who it was.

"Kinana!"

Her voice came out in a croak and forced her to cough. The woman at the other side of the room didn't even move. Levy swallowed a few times, trying to get enough liquid in her throat for her to be able to talk louder.

"KINANA!"

Levy prayed that the girl would move, even if it was just an inch, just so Levy knew she was alive. The way she was positioned meant that Levy couldn't discern whether she was breathing, but as she strained her eyes at the barmaid across the room she didn't notice the figure moving at the other side of the room.

"That seems to be another characteristic of Dragon Slayers."

Levy moved her head over to the side, watching as Lin moved through the shadows to stand in front of Kinana. Levy pulled at her chains, desperate to cast a spell, but her magic wouldn't work. She swore under her breath. Magic blocking cuffs. Lin moved ever closer to Kinana, turning his head over his shoulder to look back at Levy.

"It seems that they all fall in love with weaklings."

With that sentence, he cranked his leg back, and brought it forward until it connected with Kinana's stomach. The girl cried out, and Levy wasn't sure if she had been woken up or if she had just been so exhausted she hadn't been able to move at all. Levy screamed to the man, pulling forward on her chains, desperately trying to break out despite her entire body screaming at her to stop. Lin grinned, moving over to her, and crouching down to take her face in his hand.

"At least you have some magic. You'll carry on being useful to me after I take your Dragon Slayer."

Levy choked back sobs as the man leant closer, face getting dangerously close to hers. She could feel the heat of his breath on her cheek, and clenched her eyes shut.

There was nothing more left to do than to desperately think of the only man who could save the guild right now.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So... I'm sorry guys. But hey, a longer chapter to make up for the short one last week?
> 
> Once again massive thanks to Gajeelswoman for receiving the most random of hypothetical questions and answering them without a second thought. Do and check out her wonderful Gajevy fic if you haven't already :-)
> 
> See all you guys next week!


	44. Chapter 44

The two days after Levy set off on her solo mission were hectic. She had found a base of operations not far away from where she suspected Lin was working, but the boys had to make it their mission to get there as soon as possible. Jet was sat with Gajeel and Bacchus, explaining his part of the plan to them. They had been busy practicing how to write the rune trap to take away the magic of their opponent when Levy had been discussing it with him, and the speed mage was showing the two other men a map of the area.

"I have a magic car that we can use in order to get us there faster than the trains can. A little side business I had while you were on Tenrou. My magic works well with it, so I'll be driving. I know you have an issue with the whole moving vehicles thing, Gajeel, but I promise we won't be in it for long. 30 minutes' maximum."

Gajeel sighed but swallowed down his anxiety at having to have his strength zapped by the moving vehicle. But if this was all a part of Levy's plan, then he would happily do it.

* * *

 

Jet was trying to concentrate on the road. The surfacing wasn't great and the ride was bumpy, never mind the speed they were travelling. The nature of his speed magic forced the car faster than anyone else in the guild would have been able to push it. He could feel the cuff wrapped around his wrist draining his magic, but still, he pushed it faster. It had been some time since he had played an important part in any of the guilds plans, and he still wanted to show them what he could do. But as he drove, his thoughts started to wander.

Jet _was working on his car out the front of the guild. It had been a while since he had last had to use it, and he knew he was going to be pushing it to the limits this time. He could not afford for it to go wrong during the mission. He had to make sure it could run just as fast as he could._

_"Jet?"_

_He looked up over the bonnet as soon as he heard his friend's voice. Seeing that the man had noticed his smile, he put his head back under the bonnet and carried on with his repairs._

_"How's it going, Droy? You getting ready to head off?"_

_The other man walked up to him and leant on the car. His weight pushed the car over to the left, but Jet said nothing and simply adjusted._

_"Yeah. Pantherlily's just going to get his sword. I just…"_

_Jet stood up and pulled a rag out of his pocket to wipe down his hands. If Droy wanted to talk, there was nothing that he would be able to do but listen. He loved the man like a brother, but sometimes he took up a lot of attention._

_"I just wish I could have gone with her, you know? Maybe I could have helped! She didn't have to go alone."_

_Jet moved over to rest against the car next to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. Droy wiped a tear away from his eye, and Jet pretended not to notice._

_"I know. But this is Levy we're talking about. She knows what she's doing. And look at you! You've got an important job. You need to get the Rune Knights to them as quickly as possible when they give the signal. She's putting a lot of trust in you. I'm just glorified transport, like always."_

_Droy looked down at the floor, before taking a deep breath. Standing up straight, he turned around to Jet and looked him in the eye._

_"You keep yourself safe, yeah?"_

_Jet smiled at the change in attitude he watched his friend go through and pulled him into a hug._

_"Yeah. I will."_

* * *

 

Gajeel was sat in the back of the car, trying desperately not to be sick. Bacchus had passed out almost as soon as he entered the vehicle, claiming that he liked to sleep through journeys like this. The car was going unbelievably fast, and he couldn't bring himself to look out of the window. That technique usually helped calm his stomach a little, but now it was just making it worse. He didn't think Jet could do anything at a normal speed, and if he was feeling up to it he would have made a joke at the expense of the man, but for now he simply grasped his stomach, leaning against the side of the car as he rooted around in his pocket for the small piece of metal he had placed in there earlier.

_"You're going to be ok, right? You've thought this through and this is the only way?"_

_Gajeel stood at the door of the guild, as Levy shrugged on her long coat, and made sure that everything that she needed was in the pockets. The bluenette sighed, finally looking up to Gajeel and seeing the worry in his eyes. This lie was going to hurt the both of them, and she hoped beyond all hope that it wasn't going to destroy the relationship they had only just found._

_"I'll be fine. I could have been S-class, right?"_

_The smile that she gave Gajeel would have warmed his heart under any other circumstances, but knowing what was just about to happen it made his heart beat stronger and the Dragon rear up inside of him. She was his now, and the Dragon knew that. It wasn't going to give her up that easily. He swallowed down his pride and reached out to stroke her cheek._

_"Yeah… Yeah, you could have done."_

_Before she could speak he leant down, catching her mouth in his. If he had it his way, he never would have let her go. Especially when she wound her fingers into his hair, pulling him deeper into her as he steadied her waist._

_He tried to commit all of her to memory. Even though he was going to see her in a few days, after all of this was over, but he would rather not take the chance. If this was the last time he saw her, he was going to make the most of the last few minutes._

_Her scent filled his nostrils. It was a smell he had gotten so used to since he had first joined the guild, but he would never have guessed how beautiful it would become to him. Her taste was like a concentrated version of her smell, corrupted by the last traces of her coffee and the tears which Gajeel realised were making their way down her face. Her fingers tugged at his hair as he pulled her closer, grabbing her around her waist. He felt and heard her heart beat in time with his own and didn't want to let her go. But he knew that the longer he kept her here, the worse the pain his guildmates would be in when he finally got to them. He pulled away from her and held her close as he rebalanced her on her feet. She looked up at him, eyes filled with tears. Gajeel swallowed his sadness and took her face in his hands._

_"When you come back, after this is all over, we'll go away somewhere, yeah? Just the two of us. Get away from all this for a week."_

_Levy nodded, rooting around in her pockets. Gajeel released her slightly, allowing her to search around more efficiently until she pulled something out of her pocket and held it out to him._

_"I found this when we were shopping last, and thought that it would be a nice thank you for the piercing you made me. I was waiting for_ sometime _special to give it to you, but what better time than now?"_

_In her hands was a small metal statue, and by the smell, Gajeel guessed it was bronze. It was a beautifully carved and intricately detailed dragon, but without any wings. Gajeel looked it over, before raising his eyes to Levy._

_"It's a drake. A Dragon without wings."_

_Levy smiled up at him, the tears glistening in her eyes as she did._

_"A Dragon without wings. Just like you. You're my Drake."_

Gajeel pulled the small figurine up to his chest and smiled through the sickness. He would see her soon, he was sure of it.

* * *

 

Cana sat in the corner of the guild, staring out across Magnolia. She hadn't drunk anything even mildly alcoholic in days, and she couldn't bear to even think of it. The guild felt so empty now, so quiet. But she knew that she needed to stay, knew that Levy was relying on her to run the operation from here.

In her hand, she cradled a card, with a smiling, winking face staring up at her. As soon as it rang, she would answer it. But for now, she just sat and wished that he was still here.

_She found him in the kitchen of the bar, back to her and throwing back a glass full of a clear spirit. He sighed as it hit the back of his throat, and leant against the counter in front of him. She walked up behind the man, and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to stop the sobs that were threatening to bubble up from her throat. He jumped in surprise, before covering her hands in his._

_"Hey, babe. What's up?"_

_She pulled back from him, allowing him to turn around in her arms. He stumbled slightly before finding his feet again. Looking into her eyes he grinned, awaiting her response._

_"Don't give me any of your shit, Bacchus. I'm worried about you. You know what you're about to do is dangerous. Don't just shake my worries off like they're fucking nothing."_

_The man laughed, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her into him roughly. She sighed into his chest and enjoyed the warmth of his body that was flowing into her._

_"I know you're_ worried _baby. But you're forgetting who you're talking to! I'm Bacchus Groh! That bitch can't touch me."_

_Cana shoved back against him, pushing him away from her. She had never worried about someone like she worried about him, and he wasn't even bothered to even recognise her pain._

_"Bacc-"_

_Before she could even finish speaking his name he had moved his hands, grabbing either side of her head and pulling her face into his._

_The kiss was rough and desperate. He tasted like liquor against her tongue, and his skin was rough against hers. The way he pulled her hair was almost painful, but she wrapped her arms around his back and clung on like it was the last time she would touch his skin. He pressed his body up against hers, and she thought she was going to run out of breath until he released her and looked into her eyes._

_His eyes were filled with tears, and he hiccoughed slightly as he spoke. She had never seen him this undone before, and she suddenly felt guilty for being so annoyed at him._

_"I know, Cana. I fucking know. And I am terrified. This man has taken down more powerful wizards than me. But I promise you, as soon as I come back we're gonna get some booze, lock ourselves in your room and not come out for three weeks, ok?"_

_Cana laughed, but it came out as a sob. Her hands were still clutching onto his back, and they moved over where she knew his guild mark lay. She stroked the skin there, trying to calm him down._

_"Three weeks? If you come back, you're never fucking leaving again."_

_Bacchus smiled and pulled her back into his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, working out the knots that he had put in there before, and kissed the top of her head._

_"When, babe. When I come back. Not if. You'll keep an eye on me with your fancy cards, yeah?"_

_Cana nodded, not trusting her mouth to speak. She knew if she opened it that she would start to cry, scream at him to stay with her, not to go on this suicide mission. But she also knew that her friend's lives depended on him, and she couldn't sacrifice the good of the whole guild just for her happiness. And finally, she knew that she wouldn't look at the cards. She couldn't stand knowing when he fell._

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Another thanks to Gajeelswoman for reading these through for me, and telling me if they have/don't have the effect I am looking for.
> 
> See you guys next week!


	45. Chapter 45

The room that Levy had found for them as a base of operations was an old abandoned farm house. Well, it was barely a house at all. It was one room, with a small basement which smelled like it used to house beer many decades ago.

Jet had pulled up his car outside, and Gajeel had ensured to stake out the place thoroughly using all of his senses to make sure it wasn’t a trap. He knew Levy wouldn’t send them there deliberately, of course, but he could never be too careful and needed to make sure that Lin had not got there before them. When he gave Bacchus and Jet the signal that all was safe, they started hauling supplies out of the cart and into the cabin. Bacchus kept his bag close to his chest, but even Jet could hear the clinking of the bottles inside. Bacchus was many things, but subtle certainly wasn’t one of them.

Jet dropped some food onto an old wooden table in the centre of the room, before starting to unpack it. He had expended a lot of magic energy on the ride over her, but he knew they all needed something to refuel. Bacchus stowed away his bag in a corner and returned to the table, picking up one of the sandwiches that they had packed and stuffed it into his mouth. Gajeel and Jet joined him, and the three of them sat down heavily on the old wooden floor of the hut.

* * *

 

They sat there in silence for a while, before Bacchus settled himself back on his hands. Both of the other men had a much higher metabolism than him and he only needed to eat less than half as much as them. He watched for a moment, before turning to the speed mage next to him. He had never had much interaction with the man but he seemed nice enough.

“So, Jet. You’re a speed mage, right?”

Jet looked up at the man and nodded slowly. The question had come out of nowhere, and he wasn’t really sure how to react.

“Yeah. I am. Why?”

Bacchus smiled, turning around so he was facing Jet front on. He sat forward again and rested his elbows on his knees.

“There’s a speed mage back in Quattro Cerberus. I was wondering whether you’d be able to beat him or not.”

Jet grinned. He hadn’t met someone who had could outrun him yet.

“Maybe we could try it out sometime. Set up a race, and Fairy Tail can whip all your arses again.”

Bacchus laughed, a laugh that reverberated around the small room. Gajeel sat forward, picking up a piece of meat from the bags in front of him and tucking into it.

“Have you heard from your guild?”

Bacchus paused, and almost looked like he was deliberating over what he wanted to say. He finally smiled again, and it was as if he had flicked a switch to turn his personality back on.

“Yeah. I have. I spoke to them before we came out. No one has gone missing from there yet, and they wanted to come with me but it was too far for them to get here in time. I promised them I’d get back there as soon as this is all over.”

Jet looked up at the man, mulling what he was about to say through in his mind before he voiced what he had been thinking for a while.

“Thank you, Bacchus.” The two other men in the circle turned to look at him, and he almost immediately regretted it.

“For being here, I mean. You didn’t need to come. You could have walked away and no one would have said a word.”

Bacchus looked between the two wizards in shock, not used to being the centre of attention. Gajeel shifted uncomfortably, before adding his own thoughts to the conversation.

“I wouldn’t have bothered before I joined Fairy Tail. I’m really glad you’re here. Both of you. I’m glad I don’t have to face this alone.”

Bacchus coughed. He hadn’t spent much time around Fairy Tail but he knew that this was not a usual occurrence, especially from Gajeel. He stood up, walked over to his bag and pulled out three bottles of alcohol. He passed two to the other men with him, before opening the last one up for himself.

“I wouldn’t wanna spend the end of my days with anyone else. Good luck, guys.”

Jet and Gajeel grinned despite the situation they were in before they all clinked the bottles together and started to drink. 

* * *

 

The two Fairy Tail Wizards had only had one beer each, not wanting to distract themselves too much from when they needed to write the rune trap which was the integral part of their plan. They had started to get ready for when their plan was going to be put into place when Jet raised his voice.

“Guys?”

The two other wizards looked over, to see Jet stood stock still in the middle of the floor. It was the stillest either of them had ever seen him, and he had a look of discomfort on his face. A wave of unusual magic energy washed over them, and Gajeel instantly knew what was happening.

“Shit! No! This is not part of the plan!”

He ran over to the speed mage and grabbed onto him. Jet looked scared for a moment, before smiling at the Dragon Slayer in front of him.

“Promise you won’t be mad at Levy?”

Bacchus joined the two mages and grabbed a hold of Jet’s arm.

“What the fuck do you mean? Pull yourself together you idiot!”

But it was too late. Jet disappeared from in front of their very eyes, and they were both left clinging onto his clothes.

* * *

 

“Fuck. FUCK!”

Gajeel span around, digging through his backpack to find a communications lacrima. He needed to let everyone know what had happened, and he needed to let them know fast.

“This means that he’s got Droy… which means he probably has my cat as well. Fuck fuck fuck. This means Levy could be in danger.”

Gajeel found the lacrima finally and stared into it as he waited for Levy to pick up on the other end. It rang three times before a face appeared on the screen, but it wasn’t the face that he was expecting.

“Cana?”

The card mage looked sheepish, and she gave a half smile to the two men that had just called her. Gajeel growled, not liking the look that Cana was giving him.

“Cana. Why the fuck do you have Levy’s Lacrima?”

A noise that sounded like a sob came through the screen, and Bacchus tried to take the communication lacrima before Gajeel snatched it back. Cana’s voice came through clearer than before, but it didn’t ease Gajeel’s fears at all.

“Gajeel… You might want to sit down.”


	46. Chapter 46

Levy opened her eyes to see a shock of orange hair speed across her vision. She couldn't help but start to laugh. It had worked. Her plan had worked. She watched the blur vanish through the front door, well on his way to carry out the next stage of his plan.

Her laughter soon stopped when an angered yell came out from in front of her. Lin took hold of the chains that bound her hands above her head and tore them from the wall, allowing Levy to fall to the floor in a heap. The man grabbed hold of the scratchy clothes he had dressed her in, and pulled her up to her feet. A second later she felt her back being pressed against the brick wall of the room they were being held in, and Lin's face appeared in front of hers.

"What did you do, you little bitch?"

Levy smiled, not able to speak due to the lack of air in her lungs from being smashed against the wall. It turned out to be a mistake, as the man threw her to the floor at his feet and towered over her. What little air was left in her lungs was quickly expelled from her mouth and she coughed, trying not to notice the blood that splattered onto the floor.

Her magic had been taken from her, and she was quickly starting to lose consciousness from that alone. But she had to give Jet enough time to get back to Gajeel, and then more time for them to construct the rune trap. She blocked it out of her head as soon as possible, and moved to stand up. She had only got around halfway to her feet when a gauntleted hand smashed into the side of her head and she was thrown back onto the floor.

Seconds later a foot connected with her stomach, and she coughed again. Curling up on her side, she looked up at the man above her. Scales were spreading over his body, a myriad of purple, black and white patterns that covered his face and his neck. He wore mismatched pieces of armour on his limbs, and bandages wrapped around his chest to hide non-existent wounds. A set of keys hung from his belt, ones that Levy knew would be useless to him but he wore them like a badge of pride anyway. His face was frozen in an expression of anger, and his voice came out as a low growl which brought up images of Mirajane's Satan Soul.

"Where the fuck is he."

The voice cut through her ears, and she wanted to clamp her hands over her ears. Levy knew who he meant. She knew who he wanted to get from her. She looked up at the man, and tried to speak. Her voice came out as a harsh whisper, but he understood.

"Why do you want him?"

He crouched down until he was staring into her eyes. Up close, Levy could see they were merging through different colours and a small part of her mind told her that it was the Takeover powers forcing the different irises of her friends through to the front.

"Because then I have collected the whole set. And no one would be able to stop me."

Levy mustered up as much strength as she could, and spat in the man's face. It was speckled with blood, but it had the effect she was looking for. He stood up, wiping his face before another foot connected with her stomach. He didn't even let her recover before he lifted her up, and threw her across the room. She collided with a door, and the wood gave way to the force at which she had been thrown, making her crumple on the ground just beyond. She heard Lin walk behind her and pause.

"Never mind. You're going to tell me at some point. May as well make it now before you're I hurt you any further."

Levy tried to crawl away as her instincts took over. As she reached her right hand out, Lin placed his foot on top of it and began to press his weight on it. She didn't even think she would have enough energy to scream, but she did. Lin laughed, his voice breaking halfway through.

"Fucking pathetic. You're so weak I don't even need to use magic to torture you. But where would be the fun in that, eh?"

The room went dark, not the normal dark that happened at night but a complete absence of light. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face, and she realised that the man had been using some of Rogue's shadow magic.

"We'll start with something psychological, shall we?"

His voice seemed to come from all around her, as if he was the darkness itself. She could feel hands all over her body and it made her want to shiver.

"Of course, my magic is psychological torture, but you're too clever for that, aren't you? You'll know that it is nothing more than a nightmare."

Only seconds later she heard a scream come from the room that she had been in before, and she knew it was Kinana. She pushed herself to her feet slowly and with great difficulty, knowing that she had to protect the girl if she did nothing else. She struggled towards the noise, hands pushed out in front of her to try and keep her balance. She hit the wall, and moved along it to where she thought the door was as another scream came from the room on the other side.

"I'm coming, Kinana! Don't worry!"

The stone of the walls was rough against her hands, but she barely noticed through the stabbing pain that shot through her chest with every breath she took. She finally found the door frame and made her way around it before someone grabbed at her throat and she let out a scream in surprise.

She felt a hand on her face, and suddenly her eyes were filled with a bright burning light. It was nothing but white, and she screwed her eyes shut to avoid it. The man grabbed her left eye and forced the lid open, pushing the light into her eyes and making her think that she had gone completely blind. Her screams reverberated around the room, and she fell to the floor as soon as he let go of her neck.

"Are you ready to tell me yet, Baby Blue?"

The use of Cana's nickname made her sob. It had been a name she had been called ever since she had first met the card mage, and it felt so dirty coming out of the other man's mouth.

Levy couldn't reply. The pain was fogging up her mind, and she knew she was going to pass out. She didn't try to fight it. It would be a mercy to be rid of the pain. Just as her eyes started to flutter closed, she saw Lin squat in front of her and put his hands over her head. Her mind started to clear, but the pain remained just as vibrant as before.

"We can't have you passing out, can we?"

Levy moaned as she realised that Lin had used part of Wendy's magic to stop her from being able to pass out, but left her in all the pain that she had originally felt. The man's hands moved down, spreading out over her stomach before she felt a jolt of Laxus' lightning course through her body. Each and every one of her muscles contracted and relaxed what felt like hundreds of times per second, but she couldn't even scream out. His hands didn't move as the lightning stopped, and poison seeped from his skin into hers. The pain started to spread from the point of contact, and sapped the little energy she had left in her body. She shivered involuntarily, and the poison stopped.

"Are you going to tell me yet, bitch?"

Levy shook her head. Her friends had been through much worse than this, she had to be strong for them. The man stood up, and Levy couldn't see what he was doing until her feet began to burn. She regained her voice from somewhere, and screams erupted from her mouth as flames started to lick up her legs. Her back arched in pain, and just as she ran out of breath the pain stopped. She tried to move her legs, but to no avail. Looking down, she could see her legs encased in ice. But the respite that it gave was only momentary, before it was replaced with a burn of it's own.

Levy managed to move her head up to look at the man stood above her, to see him requip one of Erza's swords into his hand. He pointed it straight into her face, and grinned a grin that almost split his face in two.

"Let's start to mess with that pretty face, shall we?"

The tip of the blade pressed into her cheek, and with one swift movement he had ripped it through her flesh. She screamed in pain, trying desperately to pull her face away from his weapon but it didn't work. Reaching her hand out, she grabbed at his leg in one last frantic attempt to stop him, but he simply laughed and stamped on it. She was sure she could feel her bones break, and she screamed out again.

"Oh, I am started to enjoy that scream. I wonder if your friends do, too?"

She didn't even have time to wonder what he meant before he had moved Erza's sword in his hand, and with a grunt he plunged it down through her flesh, pinning her right hand to the floor.

The scream that came out of her was almost inhuman. Pain shot down her arm and spread throughout her entire body, and she reflexively tried to pull her hand down to protect it, but it just tugged against the metal which ran through it. Her screaming continued, and Lin simply laughed at her as it did and pulled the sword out of her hand, forcing another jolt of pain to shoot through her body and her screams to intensify. He waited for the screaming to slow down into sobs, before he grinned at the girl on the floor.

"I guess losing the use of your hand must be difficult for a script mage, huh?"

Levy's voice was reduced to a whisper as she cradled her hand next to her chest. The man crouched down next to her, and used the sword in his hand to move her hair out of her face.

"You stupid fucking Fairy Tail wizards. But don't worry. I know how to get to you. I have experience."

He moved away from her field of vision, and Levy was glad for the break. Her entire being was still hurting all over, and she didn't think there was a single pain receptor in her body that wasn't working overtime. She heard Lin stalk away, before a door open and he returned. A body hit the floor next to her, and she used the last of her energy to turn her head and look.

Lisanna was lay next to her, unconscious and sweating from the magic deficiency that was taking over her body. She looked thin despite the knowledge that she had been in a machine to keep her alive, and Levy tried to reach out to her.

"This little cunt is the least useful to me. Now, I'm not going to torture her. I am just going to let the disease she is suffering from take it's course. Let me tell you how that will happen.

"Now, she is unconscious currently but that won't last for long. Soon pain will overtake her body, worse than what you're feeling now, as all her cells start to tear themselves apart. It's one of the worst pains a human can experience, and she will scream until her throat is raw and then carry on screaming until the lining of her throat has deteriorated from the disease. This stage can last up to 36 hours, depending on the victim.

"That's when you need to worry, when the screaming stops. That means the disease is in it's final stages, and she has mere hours left to live. But don't worry, I will keep you alive. Can't have you missing it, can I?"

Levy looked at Lisanna, and tears erupted from her eyes. She could stand her own pain, even rationalise it, but not her friends.

"Levy, please."

The voice came from behind her, and she turned her head to see the source. Bickslow was strung up against the wall, wearing old canvas trousers and his eyes covered by an old bloody bandage wrapped around his head. His entire body was coated in dried blood, and some more recent was dripping off his feet onto the floor. Unlike her and Kinana, his entire body was suspended by his arms and they looked like they were close to dislocating if they hadn't already. He had been so quiet she hadn't even known he was there. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see Evergreen strung up next to him, and Freed to her far side. All of them had the same bandages wound tightly around their faces, but only Bickslow looked like he was awake. His voice was croaky, as if he hadn't used it for a while, and filled with terror.

"Please just give him whatever he wants. Don't make me listen to her pain again."

Lin appeared in front of him within seconds, and Levy wanted to cry out a warning but she wasn't fast enough. Elfman's Iron Bull Beast Arm connected with Bickslow's face, and he fell silent. A fresh river of blood started to leak from his nose, and Levy whimpered.

"Did you want to hear a funny story?"

Levy looked at the man. She knew that whatever he said, she would not find it as funny as he did.

"I tortured this bastard for 48 straight hours, trying to force him to transfer her soul into me. No matter what I did, it didn't fucking work. But I didn't even need to touch her. He transferred the demon's souls into me in a heartbeat when I threatened to hurt his precious little birdy. It was so satisfying to hear him scream as I took her powers into me. Don't worry your pretty little head, though, I'll wake him up as the disease starts to take effect so he can hear her pain again. And he will know that it was you who caused it."

Levy looked down at Lisanna. She had already been through so much, and it was one thing to put herself through torture just to stall the man but another to force Lisanna and Bickslow to as well. Saying a silent prayer, she hoped that she had bought the boys enough time before she opened her mouth.

"I can give you the address. Just. Please don't hurt her."

A grin spread across Lin's face, and his voice came through sickly sweet.

"I knew you had come around to my way of seeing things eventually."

* * *

Levy told him the address, and was waiting for him to pick up Lisanna and put her back into the machine to keep her body safe, but the man simply turned around and headed to leave. She mustered up the very last of her energy, and called out to his retreating form.

"Wait! What about Lisanna!?"

She heard a low chuckle, and the man didn't even turn back around.

"Oh, I forgot to mention. I have run out of machines, and I am going to be bringing back a dragon. I need to keep one free, you see."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

Levy pulled her way closer to the girl who was lay on the floor next to her, and threw her good hand around her. There was nothing she could do now. Both of them would begin to succumb to the effects of the magic deficiency disease soon, and all she could do was wait and hope that the small token of affection was enough for Lisanna to know that she wasn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that this is uploaded early. That's cause I am at Comic con this weekend (super hype) so I can't upload this weeked. I'm going to try and upload another chapter on Monday but I can't promise!
> 
> Also, huge shoutout to Gajeelswoman - my lovely friend who answers the question "If someone had been stabbed through the hand, would they still try and yank it back reflexively?" without missing a beat.


	47. Chapter 47

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone to find Lin?"

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. Gajeel had allowed Levy to go off on her own because she was going further away from the danger. She had told him that she would be going to Crocus to find the creators of the machines Lin had been using, in order to find out the best way to return the wizards within back to normal. She was sending them to a safe area near to where she thought Lin was based, so they could set up the rune trap before Lin used the heightened senses he had gained from the Dragon Slayers he had taken to track them down. But now he was staring at a screen, with a woman on the other side telling him that his girl had gone right into the jaws of danger.

"She said it was the only way. She said she needed to get to where he was, so we can find everyone quicker. Now Jet both knows where Lin is, so you will be able to get to the captive as soon as you defeat him. Jet should be on his way back to you. You need to get that rune trap set up as soon as possible because he could be there any second. Call us as soon as you find where the bastard is keeping the rest of the guild and we will come and back you…"

The end of her sentence was cut off by the sound of the communications lacrima shattering on the floor beside him. Bacchus watched Gajeel breath heavily, his fists clenched in front of his face. His eyes were closed, and his jaw set firm. Contrary to popular belief, Bacchus knew when to leave people alone. Shoving his hand in his pocket, he felt the rectangle of card that was now his only line back to Cana and decided to keep it a secret for the time being. They would need it as soon as they beat the man.

He grabbed a light pen out of one of the bags on the table and made his way down to the cellar of the small house, grateful that Levy had taught him as well as Gajeel to make the rune trap. It looked like he would be doing the most of the work until he snapped the Dragon Slayer out of his current mood.

* * *

 

Gajeel could smell him from a mile away, the signature tang of sweat and slightly burned skin that he had come to associate with Jet through his time in Fairy Tail. A blur ran past him and ended in the corner. Gajeel could hear him grabbing clothes out of a bag in his normal lightning speed and throwing them onto his body. He approached the Dragon Slayer slowly and leant against the wall.

"How well is the rune trap coming along?"

Not even Jet was fast enough to move out of the way of the man when he came at him. Gajeel's hands slammed either side of his head, and Jet instinctively shrank away from him. An aura of magic was radiating off him, and shadows were whipping around his shoulders. His mouth opened into a snarl, and his teeth had elongated and reminded Jet of a hunter after his prey.

"You fucking knew."

Jet let a breath out of his body. He had known this was coming, and he also knew that it was going to be bad. He knew he would be able to outrun the Dragon Slayer if it came to it, but he also knew he was needed here. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted immediately.

"YOU FUCKING KNEW! YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME"

Gajeel's eyes had started to glow, and Jet knew that he didn't have long before he would snap and attack him outright.

"She told me it was the only way. She said it was for the good of the guild."

Gajeel's right arm punched into the wall beside Jet's head, and the speed mage heard the splinters as it went straight through. He didn't dare look; he was too scared to move his eyes away from the threat in front of him. He could see the pure rage emitting from his eyes and knew that his explanation hadn't been enough.

"Gajeel. I know that you two love each other, but I love Levy as well. As a friend, of course, nothing else. I've known her since I can remember. Trust me, if I had known of a way to stop her from doing this I would have done it as soon as she suggested it to me."

Gajeel felt the Dragon rear up inside of him, already angry from the knowledge that his woman was in danger but now this human had admitted that he was in love with her. He struggled to keep it down, knowing that it was definitely not the best course of action right now, but he ultimately failed. He felt all of his skin turn to metal, and the man underneath him shrank even further down the wall.

"Don't worry. If she dies, you'll be reuniting with her soon enough."

His voice had dropped a few octaves, and he felt it reverberate around the room. A growl erupted from his throat, and he was just about to grab the man in front of him when a voice cut through his anger.

"Please don't kill him yet. I need his help with these Runes, he's faster than me. Once this trap is set up, you can have him to yourself."

His head turned, and before he could do anything else a blur of orange ducked under his arm and ran down into the basement. The shock at the loss of its prey threw the Dragon off balance, and Gajeel managed to fight control back off it. He breathed heavily, before sitting down on the floor. Bacchus looked at him for a second, before disappearing back down the stairs.

He felt the magic energy of the rune barrier becoming active a few minutes later and knew that everything was set up. He breathed slowly and deeply, trying to keep the Dragon down inside of him. He knew that if the Dragon was in charge when he went into the rune trap, the effect of the magic barrier would affect him much worse that if his human soul remained.

A million scents accosted his nose at once, a mixture that he usually associated with one place, and one place alone. The guildhall. But the source was moving closer at a lightning speed, and he knew that it could only be one thing as electricity started to crackle through the air. He raised his voice, telling everyone his fears.

"He's here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N  - This chapter is a lot shorter than normal, but that is because I have saved the main action for Chapter 50 (!) next week. Hope to see you all then!


	48. Chapter 48

The closer Lin got to the address the little script mage has given him, the more scents filled his nose. He wasn't used to the heightened senses this new magic gave him, and the majority of the information that had been assaulting his senses had been useless to him. But now he was closer, he could smell the pungent scents of sweat, liquor and something that he knew to be his final Dragon Slayer. The script mage was covered in his scent, so strong it almost made him choke. But this. This was the real deal. It was the sweetest scent he had ever experienced.

The hut was much smaller than he expected, and it almost disappointed him. This was Fairy Tail's final stand! There couldn't be many powerful mages left! And they chose a shitty little shed in the middle of nowhere. Right here Lin was going to gain the magic of the seventh Dragon Slayer. He was going to make Fairy Tail fall apart. And he was going to prove his stupid fucking father wrong.

Despite the shed having windows, he couldn't see inside at all. The black that was behind the glass was unforgiving, and he knew it was the shadows that Gajeel had gained during the Grand Magic Games. Maybe this fight would be more interesting than he thought. He forced himself to flick through all the magic he currently had access too, finding the shadows that began to swirl around his own body, and sending them forward to fill the shed. Gajeel would be able to see through his own shadows easily, but Lin's shadows would make him work harder to see through them. He had learned a lot on Shadow Magic, one of the few magics he now had access through that he had, and now he was glad for it.

He ran through his available spells again, and as soon as the one he needed emerged, he grinned. Gajeel would never know what hit him.

* * *

The door exploded inwards with the force of the flames that hit it, and Lin laughed as the fire was immediately engulfed by the shadows behind it. He strained all of his senses and could smell the Dragon Slayer right in front of him. But he couldn't see or hear anything, and he growled in his throat.

"Come out and face me, Gajeel! Fight me like a man!"

A chuckle came from all around him, from the shadow itself, and despite how hard he tried not to Lin shivered. He spun around, requipping a sword into his hand as he did, but it didn't connect.

"You know what, maybe I will. In the words of a close friend, I'm more of a man than you'll ever be, anyway."

The shadows dissipated, and Lin could see Gajeel in front of him. He was upside down, feet almost cemented to the rafters in the roof. His body was covered in iron scales, arms crossed over his chest, and his hair was falling down from his head towards the floor. He grinned, teeth elongated, and Lin mirrored it.

"Are you ready, Gajeel?"

He didn't wait for the man to respond and felt the electricity course through his body as his flesh turned to lightning and he shot forward. He waited for his body to connect with his target, but it continued further than he had planned, and he ended up colliding with the wall. The floor exploded behind him, and he turned to see Gajeel had fallen from the ceiling, dropping through the wooden floor through to the basement below. Lin growled, transforming into the Demon God he had acquired before dropping down to the floor below.

Bacchus watched as a man in heavy blue armour dropped to the floor in front of him. He recognised the clothes as one of Mirajane's Satan Souls and clenched his fists as he waited for the effect of the rune trap to kick in. The man in front of him fell to his knees, his takeover fading away as he started to scream. Bacchus was taken aback for a second before he lunged forward on his right foot, bringing his arm around as he did and driving the palm of his hand into Lin's temple. The man crumbled to the floor, out cold. Bacchus stood back, watching the man carefully as he did. Through a combination of the draining of his magic, and the power driven into his temple by the drunken mage he shouldn't have been able to stand for quite a while, but Bacchus wasn't taking any chances.

"Hey, Droy? Yeah. He's down."

Jet's voice was tired, and Bacchus knew exactly how he was feeling. He had been running on adrenaline and liquor for so long, and the first was starting to run out. He was still watching the mage on the floor when a blur came out of nowhere, landing on top of Lin within seconds. The speed of which it moved make Bacchus instantly think that it was Jet, but after a second he could see the mess of black hair, and the fist that was repeatedly ramming down into the man's face. Each collision was accompanied by a sickening crunch which slowly became wetter as the blood began to flow from the man's skin.

Bacchus dashed forward, slamming into Gajeel's side and rolling him off the unconscious man. They rolled on the floor, and the drunken mage ended up straddling the man's chest as he struggled to hold his arms.

"Gajeel. You need to stop. You're going to kill him."

Gajeel growled a noise that was so animalistic it sent a shiver down Bacchus' spine and made him want to run, before he snapped his head up, hitting Bacchus in the nose with a crunch. Bacchus fell off the man, sprawling across the floor as the Dragon Slayer went back over to Lin and started laying into him again. Bacchus pawed at his face and winced as he realised his nose was definitely broken. Blood was pouring from it and pooling in his mouth, but he struggled to his feet as he saw Jet tugging at Gajeel's shirt but to no avail.

"Jet! Move out of the fucking way!"

The ginger turned to look at him, before stepping backwards. Bacchus used all of his weight and momentum to slam into the side of Gajeel again, and this time both him and Jet piled on top of him, avoiding his face this time. Gajeel growled again, and Bacchus was glad they were still inside the rune barrier. He didn't think that they would still be alive, otherwise.

"Get the fuck off me. He hurt Levy."

He kicked upwards, and it collided with Jet's side. The speed mage grunted but didn't let up. His voice came in stops and starts from the exertion, but he still managed to get through his sentence.

"We don't know if she's been hurt, but we need to get to her as soon as possible or she might be in danger. This isn't helping her, Gajeel. She needs you."

The man struggled again, and Bacchus and Jet pushed down to try and stop him from getting up. He growled again, his voice dropping an octave as he grunted out his sentence.

"At least let me kill this cunt first."

His chest bucked upwards, but Bacchus pressed back down. Blood was dripping off his nose onto Gajeel's face, and he made sure to pull himself out of the way of any other sneak attacks. Jet continued with his attempt in calming the Dragon Slayer down.

"And what would Levy think if you killed him? Would she rather you kill him here, so he can never receive justice for what he's done, or hand him over to the Rune Knights so he can face trial? Bacchus can stay here until the Rune Knights come, make sure he doesn't get up, and I'll take you to her."

Gajeel stopped struggling and took a few deep breaths. His eyes closed, and with a sigh, he relaxed his entire body. Bacchus rolled off him, positioning himself between him and Lin just in case. But Gajeel stood up and started to make his way upstairs.

"Come on, Jet. We're going to get Levy."

* * *

Gajeel in his shadow form was fast. Not as fast as Jet, but fast all the same. Jet didn't have to slow down that significantly in order for the man to keep pace, so he must have been doing well. Jet had memorised the route back from where Lin was holding his friends, and he followed it perfectly now. One foot in front of the other, he tried not to think of where he was going and what he was going to find there.

The house was big. Not mansion sized, but still much bigger than Gajeel's place back in Magnolia. Jet had slowed down to a walk by the time he got there and stepped to the side as Gajeel smashed through the door. The Dragon Slayer stepped into the lobby of the house, all white marble and glass. He stopped for a second and sniffed at the air.

"They're downstairs."

He turned around, but Jet had already gone. The speed mage had known where he was going, and Gajeel swore at the precious few second he had missed. He had been struggling for too long to hold down the Dragon, knowing that it would not be useful in this scenario. The other soul had been rising in front of him, wrestling for control, but he couldn't let him win. Not yet. He followed the man's scent, left out of the foyer and through a kitchen that was in ruins. It looked like something large had come smashing through it, and Gajeel realised it was probably Lin on his quest to follow Jet and gain more power. If it hadn't had been for his sense of smell, he would have missed the hole in the floor half obscured by a broken door. The gap was small enough for Jet to fit down, but far too small for Gajeel. He grunted as he wrenched the door away, and the wind blew a familiar smell into his nose.

Levy.

The scent was tainted with blood, so much blood, and he knew that it was hers. The Dragon reeled up inside of him, and Gajeel knew he had lost the battle. No matter how hard he tried to regain control now, it wouldn't work. As soon as the second soul took control, his mind was filled with nothing but the scent of fear, pain and desperation coming from somewhere down below him. The Dragon tore down the stairs, running through unimportant rooms straight to the source of the scent.

Levy was partially blocked by a body the human side of Gajeel recognised as Lisanna. The Dragon didn't care, though. He picked up the white haired girl and tossed her to the side. She was putting too much pressure on his girl, his _Shrimp_ , and it just wouldn't do. He dropped to his knees and picked the girl up in his arms. She was tiny, so small, and he couldn't see an inch of her that wasn't covered in the scarlet liquid that had spewed out of her many injuries. In some small part of Gajeel's humanity, he knew he had to do something to help, but the Dragon couldn't comprehend that. He simply held onto her tighter, inhaling the scents that wafted from her, and desperately listened to the heart beat that was getting weaker by the second. He couldn't protect her. All this power and he couldn't fucking protect her. But now, he wouldn't let her out of his grip. No one would take her again.

* * *

Jet had gone straight to the room he had been in before and was glad that he did. Kinana was lay curled up in the corner, almost unrecognisable from the amount of blood that caked over her skin and soaked in her clothes. Jet rushed over to her, crouching down next to her body. He reached his hand out towards her, before deciding against it. She was too heavily injured, and moving her might make her worse. No, he would leave it to the professionals when they got here. Casting a glance around the room, he saw no more bodies in there. Levy must have moved since he had been gone.

He stood up again and made his way out into the main room. There were 15 machines all lined up against a wall, a light shining out of every single one and illuminating operating tables complete with surgical instruments and needles on the other side. He walked over to the one closest to him and saw Juvia trapped inside. Her eyes were closed, and she almost looked like she was asleep. He looked at the control panel on the machine. Everything was OK. No warnings, and nice green text that told him that she was fine staying in there for the time being. For now, he needed to find Levy. Looking through each of the machines, in turn, he silently prayed that at least one of them would contain the blue haired mage he had been looking for, but when he got to the final one and found it empty he knew that he was out of luck.

He looked to the other side of the room, seeing a door which had exploded outwards into another, darker chamber. She had to be in there. He moved over to it and saw Gajeel in the corner. Shadows whipped around him, almost obscuring him to the point that Jet had gotten halfway across the room towards him before he realised he was holding onto Levy.

"Shit."

The response came as a growl that shook Jet to the core. He wasn't stupid, and he could tell that if he tried to get any closer he would regret it. He took a few steps back from the mass of shadows on the floor and ran into something hanging on the wall next to him. He spun around to see what was behind him, before covering his mouth. All three members of the Raijinshuu, strung up in a row two feet from the ground with their eyes bandaged with dirty, bloody cloth. They were wearing what looked like torn sacks, and none of them looked to be moving. He dashed forward towards Freed, reaching up to try and wrangle with the chains that held him in position. Swearing when he found a lock, he spoke into Freed's ear.

"I'll get you down. Give me a second."

The Rune Mage's hair was tangled and soaked through with blood, the bandages entwined through the strands and bloody where his hair had been pulled out completely. Jet swallowed his fear, running back into the main room and praying that Lin hadn't taken the keys with him. He scrambled through scalpels and syringes on the table in the other room, before finding a small metal key that he hoped beyond all hope was the correct one.

Running back into the other room, he supported Freed with one arm as he reached up with the other. As soon as the lock opened he braced himself against the other man's weight and allowed it to fall against him. He stumbled back slightly, before regaining his balance and struggling his way over to one of the tables in the other room. He wrestled the dead weight up and lay him on the table before running back to the other room.

He wrapped his arm around Evergreen's waist, glad that she was so much smaller than Freed. He looked at the bandage around her eyes and felt a pang of guilt when he was glad they weren't exposed. Reaching up to unlock her restraints, he jumped backwards as she spoke into his ear.

"Elfman?"

Her voice was raspy, and it sounded painful just to say that one word. Jet continued with the restraints, keen not to waste any more time.

"Big man's OK. He's in better shape than you, we're worrying about you right now."

A small sob came from her mouth, but soon her breathing returned to the slow and steady pace it was before. Jet carried her out to join Freed, picking her up gently as he felt her shoulder move unnaturally underneath him. He started to regret his decision but shook his head as he lay her down on the table. She would be more injured if she stayed strung up, surely. As soon as she was safe, he sprinted back into the room and looked at Bickslow. He was bigger than the other two, that was for sure, but again he grabbed onto the man, starting to lean his weight against him.

As soon as the handcuffs unlocked, the Sieth mage tipped forward and fell heavily onto Jet.

"Hang on… Fuck. Shit. Gajeel, I could use some…"

The answer came as a growl, and the shadows whipped around the room with more vigour than before. Jet swallowed, trying to adjust his weight so he could get the bigger man to a table. He was stupid to assume that anything would be able to pry the Dragon Slayer away from Levy.

"Nevermind. I just need to…" The man in his arms started to slip, and he knew that there was no way he was getting him any further. "Fuck. I'm sorry, Bickslow, but you're going to have to go on the floor for a bit."

He started to try and adjust himself, but Bickslow was like a very large, very heavy rag doll that would not cooperate with him at all. He took a step to try and place him on the floor, but Bickslow flopped like he was a rag doll, forcing him down to the floor with him.

"Fuck!"

His left leg was pinned underneath Bickslow, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't push him off. He attempted to pull his leg out from underneat the man, but was interrupted by a crash from upstairs.

"Is anyone down here awake?"

Jet thanked every deity he had ever heard of and dropped his head down onto the dirty floor. This nightmare was close to being over.

"Down here! We need help!"

* * *

Captain Forney hadn't originally believed the report. Fairy Tail had long been a thorn in the Rune Knight's side and had been known for their exaggeration in recent times. After the investigation as to where the majority of the guild had gone for the best part of a decade, the guild maintained their story that they had been under the effects of some sort of spell, and had been preserved in time for 7 whole years. Forney had never believed it was possible, but he did have to admit that they had not aged a day since their last recorded sighting.

Now one of the mages that had been gone for that time, and one which had participated in the Grand Magic Games, had contacted the Rune Knights and told them the son of a prominent wealthy family, Lin Chasso, had kidnapped half of the guild to steal their magic. Forney was convinced it was a lie, but his boss had sent him all the same. "You never know with Fairy Tail", he had said and proceeded to send a whole squad of Rune Knights along with three medics.

Forney and his men entered the house, mansion really, and called out to see if the owner was there. After a few seconds without a response, he stepped further into the hall and noticed the sign of the disturbance in the kitchen to the left. Working his way carefully towards it, he noticed the door down into a cellar had been ripped open and smashed against a wall on the opposite side of the room. He proceeded slowly, wary that whoever had caused the issue may still be in the building and made his way to the top of the steps. He started down slowly, signalling to his men to be silent as they descended from the brightness of the kitchen into the darkness of the basement below. He could see fifteen machines lined up along the wall, all but one was closed and appeared to be occupied. Two other bodies were lay stretched out on what looked like operating tables along another wall, and Forney froze.

"Shit. They weren't exaggerating. We're going to need more medics. Goffe, get them to send anyone they have available."

He raised his voice, calling out to see if anyone was awake and able to talk to him. A panicked voice came from behind a door to the right, and Forney rushed through. There was a slim ginger man on the floor, pinned under a taller man who was covered in blood. Forney signalled to the medics he had brought with him, who started to check over the larger man before removing him to one of the operating tables. The ginger man stood up, thanking him before starting to Forney launched into his questions.

"How many of you are there down here?"

The ginger man appeared to think for a second, obviously counting in his head.

"About Twenty injured, I don't know how many of those are suffering from Magic Deficiency, and two not injured at all. Have you got to Kinana yet? She should be in the other room."

Forney was confused for a second, this man was the only one that he had seen who didn't appear to have any injuries, but one of the medics came in behind him, and interrupted his questioning.

"We're going to have to get these people to a hospital. There's no way we're going to be able to treat them all here. We need to send someone ahead to prepare the intensive care unit and make sure they have enough Magic Deficiency specialists to treat all these people."

The ginger man stepped forward, putting one hand up to volunteer. His voice was quiet, and Forney felt sorry for him. This man had come across all of his guildmates horrifically tortured and dying, he would be a bit shaken after that too.

"I'm a speed mage. I can get there quickest if someone gives me directions."

The medic looked to the Captain, who nodded his consent. The man obviously wanted to get out of this hell that he had entered, and Forney couldn't deny him that. He disappeared with the Medic, and Forney made his way back out to the main room.

One of the other medics was bent over a green-haired man, who now he was closer Forney could see had had his eyes bandaged up. The medic lifted up his head and started to undo the bandages slowly so he could assess the damage.

"Don't!"

Everyone looked around, seeing a young woman stood on the stairs. She looked so tired and her appearance was so dishevelled he almost didn't notice her until she was a couple of steps further down. Cana Alberona. The reserve member of Fairy Tail Team B from the Grand Magic Games.

"Don't take their bandages off. Not yet. They have magic in their eyes that they can't control. You'll need protection before they take them off."

She walked over to the blue haired man they had just stretched out on the table and adjusted the bandages so they covered his eyes more completely. Forney opened his mouth to protest what she was saying, but she hadn't finished yet.

"Where's Gajeel?" She halted for a second to wait for a response before continuing. "Black haired Dragon Slayer? Would have been with a small blue haired girl?"

When there still wasn't an answer, she started to make her way through the basement into the other rooms. She went to the one on the right first and froze.

"Gajeel. You OK buddy?"

Forney looked around the room, unable to see anyone there. Cana had stopped a few feet from the door, staring into the shadows on the opposite side of the room.

"Excuse me, Miss Alberona. I know that these are your guildmates, but you shouldn't be here. You have no authority here, and we need to get this sorted as soon as possible. So if you could wait outs… What's that noise?"

Cana had been moving slowly closer to the shadows, and with each step, she took forward an increasingly loud growl erupted from out of the shadows. Forney squinted his eyes, and eventually managed to see a small foot poking out from the shadows. As soon as he discerned what it was, he could see what looked like a large body facing away from him, holding a smaller one in his arms. Forney froze. He had never thought there could be more victims.

Cana slowly made her way into the shadows that surrounded Gajeel. His entire body was covered in iron, and his eyes were glowing a bright white out of the darkness. A low growl was coming out of his throat, and Cana crouched down in front of him. She knew that this was no longer Gajeel, and wondered how long ago he had lost control to the dragon inside of him.

"Hey, Dragon. The medics are here."

The Dragon Slayer didn't even move, and Cana started to reach an arm out to Levy. Gajeel's arm shot forward, grabbing hold of her arm and stopping her from getting any closer. Cana froze in terror, before taking a deep breath and continuing with what she needed to do.

"I know you're scared for her, and I know you don't want her to be hurt, but she is. Right now we need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible. Give her to me, I'll make sure she's looked after."

Iron claws dug into her skin, and Cana felt blood well up where the metal pierced her. But she still stared Gajeel in the face. She knew that if she failed here, Levy wouldn't survive. Swallowing the fear and the pain that filled her body, she clenched her fists and sounded her own growl in return to his.

"Gajeel Redfox. Or the Dragon, whoever the fuck you are. You fucking listen to me. I know you've claimed this girl as your own, and no one is disputing that. But I want you to imagine a life without her from now on. Because that's what you are going to go through if you carry on this fucking charade. If you don't give her to me right fucking now, you are going to lose her. Can you live with that on your conscience?"

The Dragon didn't move, and Cana almost thought she had failed, until the iron began to dissipate from Gajeel's skin, along with the shadows that had surrounded them. Gajeel had tears streaming from his eyes, and his hand fell down to his side. Cana looked up to the Rune Knight who was standing in the room with them, refusing to look at Levy now the light had revealed the amount of blood that covered her, and spoke up. On the way up, she could see Lisanna lying a few feet away from her. She had been so obscured by the darkness Cana hadn't even noticed she was there. The Card Mage's voice broke with sadness as she told the captain it was ok.

Medic's rushed in and transferred Levy onto a stretcher, before another ran in to check Lisanna. Cana leant forward, putting her hand onto Gajeel's shoulder in mild support. She was about to speak again when he pitched forward and began to cry into her shoulder.

"Come on, Gajeel. We'll go with her to the hospital. You need to stay strong for her for a little longer."

* * *


	49. Chapter 49

The nurses didn't know what they were expecting, but they certainly weren't ready for the chaos that descended on them. When the ginger haired man had run into the hospital, bent over in exhaustion as he told them to prepare for a large intake of patients, they thought at best he was exaggerating and at worst he needed help of his own. But when he handed them a note from one of the medics that had been called to a residence nearby with the Rune Knights, written in the hospital's specific shorthand, saying that they had to get all of the Magic Deficiency specialists available to the hospital as soon as possible they decided to take it seriously. Beds were prepared, back up nurses and doctors were bought in and cures for Magic Deficiency Disease were prepared. And about thirty minutes later, they were glad that they did.

They now had six Dragon Slayers, the most they had ever had at one time, lined up in beds in one room; three mages with mysterious eye magic in another room where they could be observed through glass; two creatures that some of the nurses identified as Exceeds in one of the larger rooms with seven other mages; and three girls in intensive care. Nineteen mages all suffering from various stages of Magic Deficiency disease, with eight suffering from other serious injuries, and the specialists were rushed off their feet. To make matters worse, there was another large mage which refused to leave the side of the most injured girl until another woman pulled him off when they had to wheel her into surgery. They thought it would get better when the guild's master turned up, but he simply took over one of the Doctor's offices as his own and locked himself in.

* * *

 

When Cana entered the room, Makarov was facing away from her on the swivelling chair that was placed behind the desk. He had an audio only communications lacrima up to his ear and was speaking into it. She closed the door behind her and Bacchus and waited for him to finish.

"How many times do I have to tell you, I have no idea why he targeted Fairy Tail! One of our mages completed a job request for him, she did the work completely satisfactorily, and that's all I know."

Cana could hear the muffled noise of the Rune Knight on the other side and watched as Makarov's fist clenched on the arm of the chair. Bacchus silently questioned whether they should leave, but she shook her head. Not yet. She needed to talk to the master, and she could wait as long as she needed. Until she was called back by the nurses, she would stay in this room so she could grab the master at the first instance.

"They didn't try to contact me because your officials made it abundantly clear that you would not let any outside persons speak to us. They didn't contact the Rune Knights because let's be honest, what use have you been to us in the past?"

Cana could hear the voice on the other end falter, struggling to find an answer to the man's accusations. But in the end it was futile, and Makarov interrupted the silence.

"If you have nothing more to say, call me back once he wakes up. I want to know why he did this to my children."

The lacrima disconnected, and Makarov sighed. Cana and Bacchus stayed silent, waiting for the older man to come to them in his own time. He had received a lot of bad news very suddenly when Droy and Pantherlily had informed the council of Levy's plan. They had interrupted the meeting of the Ten Wizard Saints, something practically unheard of, and Makarov had been at the hospital faster than Cana could have thought possible.

"Cana. Tell me what's happening. How is everyone doing?"

The two mages moved forward, taking the chairs opposite where the Master was sitting. They were uncomfortable, but for two people who had been on their feet so long they had lost track, they were a welcome respite.

"Everyone is stable. Kinana, Bickslow and Levy have had to go in for surgeries, but the nurses say they are recovering well. They are providing the Dragon Slayers with as much as possible to regenerate their magic, and they estimate they will be some of the first to awaken."

Makarov turned to face them, and Cana could see he had been crying. Neither of the mages thought to mention it and simply bit their tongue while he leant his head in his hands.

"Who has injuries on top of the Magic Deficiency?"

Cana let out a deep breath. It had been more than she had expected, more than any of them had expected. A lot of the injuries were internal, or the victims were simply too covered in blood to get a good estimation at first. On top of her arm and Bacchus' broken nose, both inflicted by Gajeel, eight Fairy Tail mages had suffered physical damage.

"Laxus, the rest of the Raijinshuu, Erza, Levy, Lisanna and Kinana."

Makarov rubbed the bridge of his nose, before grabbing a paper and pen from the desk in front of him and preparing to write.

"Tell me. I will inform the Magic Council myself so they can question and pass judgement on this bastard properly. I can get it to them faster than their incompetent Rune Knights, and I trust you more than them anyway."

Cana shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and Bacchus reached out a hand to calm her. He started to draw circles on her thigh, and she swallowed her fear.

"I could get the head nurse, she could…"

"No, Cana. You tell me. It will hurt less coming from you."

Cana took a deep breath. She wasn't sure anything would lessen the pain of what had happened to her guild mates, but she supposed she owed it to the old man to lessen it as much as she could.

"Okay, so. Laxus has broken three of his ribs on his left-hand side, his left collarbone and one of the broken ribs pierced his lung. They've managed to reinflate it, and he's well on the way to recovery now. You should be proud of him; they think he was the only one able to fight once he had been teleported."

Makarov simply nodded, and Cana knew that she wasn't getting any more out of him. She coughed slightly and continued on her list.

"Erza has had her sternum broken, and the right side of her pelvis has been ruptured. In addition, she has a fair few lacerations which have required multiple stitches, but as before she has been recovering well. She shouldn't be out too much longer if the nurses' estimates are correct."

Another nod from Makarov and Cana paused for him to catch up with his writing, and looked to Bacchus for support. His hand squeezed her leg, and she let her hand fall over it to show him how much she appreciated him being there for her.

"The Raijinshuu all have both shoulders dislocated, Jet said they had been strung up for a while. Freed has had some damage to his right eye, but nothing he won't recover from. Evergreen… Evergreen has severe damage to both of her eyes. When they brought her in they were both sewn open, and the nurses' are lucky I told them they needed glasses on before they unwrapped her bandages. They said she'll be lucky if she ever sees again. Her left leg is broken, too, and she has lacerations across most of her skin. Bickslow is probably the worst hurt out of the three of them, but he never had his magic taken from him. He has six broken ribs and a broken collarbone, both of his lungs are collapsed and he's had to go in for surgery to get them reinflated. The scar he's always had across his chest has been cut open again, along with more cuts all over his body. He's had to have surgery on both wrists as well, we're not sure what happened to them but they're pretty banged up. Oh, and his nose has been broken. They've had to keep him under sedation because he keeps waking up and screaming, thrashing about and injuring himself even more. He's been put through a lot of torture. We've got another problem with him, too."

Makarov looked up, and Cana bit her lip. She had been toying with the issue ever since she walked into Lin's basement, and she was hoping that Makarov will have the answers that she couldn't think of.

"Nurses are starting to get suspicious about his magic. The person on his face is a sign of Sieth magic, right? And it's illegal?"

Makarov nodded. Bacchus was shocked that a member of a legitimate guild had illegal magic, but Cana had heard whispers around the guild before.

"I managed to hide his tattoo from the Rune Knights in the basement, but it's visible now. I'm worried that the nurses will bring it up with one of the Knights walking around, or one will walk in and see it, and I don't know what that's going to mean for him."

Makarov sighed. Bickslow's illegal magic had been a thorn in his side ever since the Sieth mage joined the guild, and it looked like it wasn't going to end yet. He would never regret taking the young boy in all those years ago, but he sure did wish it had been easier to keep his magic a secret.

"I will deal with the Rune Knights, don't worry. It's nothing that I haven't had to do before. Any other injuries?"

Cana physically relaxed, and Bacchus mirrored her. The one major issue that had been weighing on her mind had been passed on to someone else. She melted back into her chair and answered the question the Master had asked.

"Lisanna has broken one of her ribs, her left elbow and her pelvis, and her right knee, ankle and hip have all dislocated. She's pretty cut up all over, but the sick bastard has cut a scar exactly like Bickslow's across her front as well."

Makarov clenched his fist again but didn't make any move to interrupt Cana. The card mage felt anger boil up in her blood as she thought through what she was going to say next and made sure she could get through it.

"Kinana has had to go into surgery for internal bleeding, but it seems to have stopped. She isn't suffering from any Magic Deficiency, but she's had seven ribs broken, lacerations across her skin and she's suffering from burns both from flames and from poison."

Makarov's fist slammed down on the table and both the other mages jumped. He growled under his breath, low enough that both of the mages had to strain their ears to make sure it was really there.

"He hurt her too? She was defenceless! She wasn't going to hurt him!"

Bacchus' hand squeezed Cana's leg, and her rage dissipated enough to allow her to continue. She took a deep breath, preparing to detail the last of the damage that bastard had done to her guildmates.

"And that brings us to Levy. All the bones in her right hand are broken, and he stabbed right the way through it. Her right shoulder, collarbone, hip and knee are broken, along with 4 of her ribs and her right lung being punctured. She has massive internal bleeding, but it seems to have been stemmed through surgery. He's cut through her left cheek, broken her nose and she's been burned with both flames and poison as well."

Silence fell over the room as every person in there worked hard to contain their anger. They had all seen far too many injuries to their families to not have the emotion overtake them, but they also knew that getting angry wouldn't help anything now. Cana eventually broke the silence, asking a question she had been wondering since she walked in the room.

"Have you been to see them?"

Makarov placed his pen back onto the desk, before slowly shaking his head.

"No. The council have been riding my arse since I got here. This is the longest I have been able to go without being on the phone to those bastards."

Cana stood up, reaching out her arm to pull the Master from the chair. She had already been dealing with the council before he arrived, it wouldn't hurt her to deal with them for a while longer.

"Go and see them. I'll keep the council off your back for a while."

Bacchus stood too, going to open the door to the office. Makarov looked between them before shaking his head. He went to speak before Bacchus interrupted. The older man wasn't his Master, after all, and he had no problem defying him.

"I'll help her. I can stay here a little while longer, and it might surprise you but being S-Class does give me a certain amount of sway with those council idiots."

Makarov sighed, before jumping off the chair in a way which looked far too athletic for someone his age. He walked towards the door, and just as he was about to step through, he turned back to the card mage and spoke.

"You've done incredibly well, Cana. I'm proud of you."

With that, he turned around and walked out of the door. Cana collapsed into the chair he had recently vacated, and Bacchus watched as she shrank backwards, and tears began to fall from her face. He was at her side in seconds, kneeling on the floor next to her.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Cana's voice hitched in her throat, and she reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes. She didn't even know why she was crying, it was stupid, and yet here it was. She pitched forward in the chair, falling onto Bacchus' shoulder while being careful not to jolt his nose.

"You're really leaving?"

She felt his arms wrap around her back as he tried to comfort her. His sleeves scratched her skin, but at this moment she didn't care. He still smelt of sweat from where he had fought earlier in the day, but somehow it still relieved her. He was here, in her arms, and he was ok. He chuckled next to her, a sound that made her remember better times.

"That's what you're crying over?"

Cana nodded into his shoulder, before changing her mind.

"Well, yes and no. I don't even know. I think it was the final straw, you know? It's almost like, I have been running on pure adrenaline for so long and now it's gone…"

Bacchus pulled her closer, fingers digging into her skin so hard she was sure that they were going to cause bruises, but she didn't care. He had given her enough bruises since they had met, another few weren't going to make much of a difference.

"Because you know everyone is going to pull through. You're exhausted, relieved and angry all at the same time. And your body doesn't know how to deal with that. I need to go home, Cana, but you can come with me. We'll pop in and say hello to the guild, and then we'll lock ourselves in my flat until we forget our own fucking names."

Cana laughed, a noise that sounded weird mixed with her crying. Tears still flowed from her eyes, but what Bacchus had said had calmed her more than she ever could have thought. She was about to reply when the lacrima on the desk rang.

She reached out for it, but Bacchus stopped her. Grabbing the lacrima, he guided her to her feet, stealing the chair from underneath her before pulling her down to sit her on his lap.

"Let me get this one. You write down anything important and answer whatever shit questions I can't. Which will be most of them."

He pressed a button on the lacrima, before holding it up to his ear.

"Bacchus Groh, S-Class wizard and official secretary to the Fairy Tail guild. What do you want?"

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - so, I realised that there was very little Gajevy in this chapter, but  I needed to lay the ground work for what's going to happen next. A couple more chapters and then there will be nothing but Gajevy for a while, deal?


	50. Chapter 50

Gajeel sat in the hard, plastic chair that was far too small for his large frame, clutching at the blankets that covered Levy. He didn't dare touch her for fear he would hurt her, and the covers were feeling his wrath. He had been told that everyone's magic had been returned, and it was Cana's theory that it was returned as soon Lin had been knocked out. Jet, Droy and Pantherlily had all been and gone, leaving with a promise that Gajeel would call them as soon as Levy awoke.  
The nurses had told him he wasn't allowed in the room with her but had relented due to a mixture of the fear he tended to cause people and Cana's logical arguing. He wasn't going to cause any of the residents of the room any harm, why bother to keep him out? Plus he would be an excellent warning system if anything changed in her state. He would keep a much closer eye on her than any machines could.

The script mage was sharing a room with Lisanna and Kinana, all three girls hooked up to a variety of tubes and sensors that told the nurses about their condition. Gajeel tried not to read the screen, although the incessant beeping told him that her heart rate was much lower than it should be. His senses were assaulted by the smell of chemicals, almost obscuring Levy's scent altogether, and he vowed that he would never find himself in such a position again. His eyes fixed on her face, bandaged from the cut across her cheek and bruised where the man had preferred brunt force rather than the slicing power of Erza's blades. An oxygen mask covered the bottom half of her head, and occasionally he could hear the hum as it activated. But she was still Levy, and she was still his.

"How is she holding up?"

The voice was familiar, and Gajeel knew that he would be forgiven if he didn't turn to look.

"Stable. She'll live. She'll need a lot of therapy both for the physical and mental pain, but she'll live."

He heard a chair being pulled up next to him, and sense the small man struggling up onto it. The Master could easily grow and allow himself to get onto the chair easier, but he never did. Gajeel placed his head on the bed, careful not to jolt it, and looked over his shoulder at the older man.

"She's incredible, isn't she? Always has been. Much braver and stronger than outside appearances show."

Gajeel snorted. As if he hadn't noticed that. His Shrimp was the most fantastic woman he had ever met, in so many different ways. But in others...

"She's fucking stupid too, and reckless. She could have been killed. She lied to me, and if one tiny part of her plan hadn't had worked I couldn't have got to her in time."

Makarov tutted, sitting back in the chair and closing his eyes. Gajeel took it as a clue to close his too. The bright white of the hospital lights was hurting his eyes anyway.

"And how often have you done something stupid and reckless?"

The Dragon slayer turned his head away, refusing to answer the man. This close to Levy he could smell her over the chemicals that had blocked it out before.

"How long did you spend spying on Ivan? You must have known that was danger…"

Gajeel growled deep in his throat. He didn't mean to, but he was losing the argument and the Dragon wasn't appreciative. It had been staying much closer to the surface since the basement, and it was getting harder for him to swallow it down.

"That's not the issue we're having here and you know it."

Gajeel could hear the man lean forward in his seat, the plastic squeaking under even his tiny weight. The Dragon Slayers fingers started to pick at the edge of the blanket, pulling apart the fibres as he did.

"It's exactly the issue. She did what she had to do to protect the guild. But right now, she's out of danger. That's all that matters. Now it's the long road to recovery, and she's going to need someone by her side."

He allowed the sentence to hang in the air before Gajeel heard him hit the floor. He didn't bother raising his head again as the man walked over to Lisanna and Kinana in turn, before making his way out of the room. The Dragon Slayer was exhausted, but he couldn't allow himself to sleep. He couldn't risk missing her wake up.

* * *

For the first time since she could remember, Lucy woke up cold. She tried to stretch out, but her blankets were wrapped around her too tightly. She opened her eyes, feeling far more sleep in them than normal. A mop of pink hair hung in front of her, and some small voice in the back of her brain forced her to sit up, arms shooting out as she hugged the body close to her. The noise that it made was much more feminine that she expected, and she blushed as the woman in front of her gently removed Lucy's hands from around her waist.

"It's great to see you awake."

Lucy finally took in her surroundings. She was in a hospital bed, sensors and wires littering her skin and connected to a steadily beating machine at the side of her. The nurse was young, a bright pink pixie cut that had confused her framing her smiling face.

"Your guild was attacked, you…"

It came flooding back to Lucy all at once. Lin. The journey to an old church in the middle of nowhere. Evergreen lying on the floor, and two bright green eyes that were the last thing she saw. The vision of Evergreen's eyes, thread looping through her eyelids and through her cheek would be burned into her memory forever. She shook her head, before forcing herself to take in her surroundings.

"Yes, I know. I was there."

Her voice came out a lot snippier than she intended, but she was busy looking around the room. Erza and Jellal lay to her right, an equal amount of sensors on each, and a hulking body she could only assume was Elfman was in the bed to her left. A shock of white hair that she couldn't tell whether it belonged to Mira or Lisanna was at the end of the room, and Gray lay opposite her with the guild's Water Mage to his right. The last two beds in the room were taken up by what she could only assume were the exceeds, the lumps in the blankets far too small to be human. But the man she was looking for wasn't there. She looked at the nurse, who had started to pull equipment from the table next to her in order to start running more tests.

"Where's Natsu? The Dragon Slayer?"

The nurse was prepping a thermometer and indicated for Lucy to open her mouth. She did as she was told.

"Which one? We have five here right now."

The thermometer left Lucy's mouth, and the Nurse noted down the number that it had shown. Lucy pushed herself back on the bed, leaning up on the pillow. She felt weak, but nothing hurt per se.

"Fire. He's got pink hair like yours. I need to go and see him."

The nurse was still arranging instruments on the table next to her, her back turned. Lucy took to looking around the room again, anger rising up in her when she did the maths in her head. Five Dragon Slayers? Who else had the bastard got to?

"You're not strong enough right now, you need to…"

The anger that had built inside her came to a head, and she started to swing her legs off the bed. She needed to see him, needed to make sure he was ok. He would have done the same for her if he had awoken first.

"No! I need to see him! I'm plenty strong enough!"

The nurse looked on in shock as the blonde girl on the bed started to pull on the sensors. As soon as the first one left her skin, an alarm sounded to inform the hospital that a heartbeat has been lost. The nurse tried to settle her back down, but the mage wouldn't have any of it. More wires came off her skin, and the alarms beeped louder. Lucy looked down at the last tube, attached to her through a needle in her hand. She took a deep breath, before grabbing hold of the wire.

"Lucy!"

Her hand froze as she looked up. Cana was stood at the entrance to the room, wearing her usual shirt under what Lucy recognised as Bacchus' jacket. She looked tired, and as soon as their eyes met tears started to fall from her eyes. Lucy thought she could see a man turn his back and walk away, but her attention was pulled away by the card mage running up to her bed.

"Cana?"

Cana had jumped onto her bed, arms wrapping around the celestial wizard's neck. Lucy could feel her sobbing into her neck, tears starting to soak through her hair.

"Thank fuck you're OK, Lulu. I've been so worried."

The brunette pulled away, stepping off the bed and picking up some of the sensors to pass over to the nurse. The woman looked on in confusion, but Lucy had too many questions to allow her to speak.

"Cana, I need to see Natsu. Where is he?"

Cana sat down on the bed and took Lucy's hand in hers, stroking her thumb over the guild mark she found there. The anger had gone out of her system now but had been replaced with the gnawing feeling of worry at her missing Dragon Slayer.

"He's safe. He's in the next room along. How about we let the nurses do their tests they need to do, then we can ask if we can put you in a wheelchair and take you over there, ok? We need to make sure you get better too."

Lucy looked up at the nurse and sighed. Cana was actually speaking sense. There was no point of her running off to find Natsu if it was just going to injure her further. She held out her arm and the nurse started to reattach the sensors, causing the alarms to quieten one by one. Relaxing back into the bed, she closed her eyes and before long she was back to sleep.

"Are they all going to be this bad?"

Cana looked up to the nurse, before laughing softly. She put Lucy's hand down on the bed before standing up and moving to walk out the door.

"Oh honey, everyone else is going to be so much worse."

* * *

The first any of the nurses knew about the exceeds going missing was when they were doing their rounds of the Dragon Slayer's room. They had been checking the youngest patient when they saw something move underneath the blanket. Under further investigation, they found a small white cat curled up next to her stomach. They hadn't been able to put any sensors onto the Exceeds, their hearts beat far too quickly and caused the alarms to go off consistently, so it was easy for them to sneak out of their beds. It didn't take long before they found a blue cat hidden at the bottom of one of the others Slayer's beds. The nurses tried to pick the little blue cat up, but he panicked and scratched at their arms. It wasn't until another exceed walked past, spotted their predicament and walked in that they had their problem solved.

"I'll take them back to their beds and make sure they stay there. They get protective over the Dragon Slayers, don't worry."

The nurses were about to protest, not sure how the exceed could carry his two guildmates all the way back to their beds, but before their very eyes he grew until he was taller than even the tallest of them and picked both Exceeds up in his arms. He carried them out of the room, and one of the nurses followed in order to make sure they were returned to the bed properly. The remaining nurses all looked at each other and shook their heads. Not much worse that the issues they had had with the first mage to wake up and they were beginning to think the card mage had been exaggerating.

* * *

Wendy's eyes blinked open, trying to block out the bright lights that had been shining down on her. She could barely move before some type of wire tugged at her skin, and from the bottom of her vision, she could see an oxygen mask clasped over her mouth and nose. With each inhalation of air, she felt herself getting stronger, and she lifted her head to look down at her body.

She had an IV going into each hand, and sensors were stuck over almost every inch of skin she could see. She moved her eyes to the right and could see Natsu lying there, a heat from a continuous flame burning next to him. She couldn't see past him, but on the opposite side of the room lay the Twin Dragon Slayers from Sabertooth, along with… No. It couldn't be.

The purple hair and scar across his eye told her it was the Poison Dragon Slayer who had joined Crime Sorciere not that long ago. He had obviously come to help them, but now he was in danger. If the Rune Knights saw him, he would be arrested and taken back to jail and then who knew what kind of treatment he would get. She could see some odd purple liquid being pumped into his veins and knew it was poison, but the medics at the council may not know what's best for him.

She moved ever so slowly, lifting herself carefully off the bed and leaning over to the machine. She had seen them before when she had been training with Porlyusica to get better at healing, and she knew exactly which switch she had to flip to turn off the machine. She held her breath, hoping it wouldn't set off alarms, and sighed in relief when the beeping stopped and wasn't replaced by a wailing signal that she was awake and moving. She hurried to pull the wires off her skin, wincing as she slowly removed the needles from her skin and felt the pinch of pain. She swung her legs off the bed, testing her own strength as she stood up. She had enough energy to stand, and took a few more breaths from the oxygen mask in order to gain some more strength before she moved across the room.

The other Dragon Slayer was covered in just as many wires as she was, and she hovered his hands over his body. As soon as she realised that he didn't have any physical injuries she started to pour her magic energy into him. She felt her energy start to wain and started to eat more and more air. The man stirred, and Wendy renewed her efforts.

"You shouldn't be doing that."

The voice made her jump, breaking her concentration and the stream of magic was stopped. She could tell that her magic was depleted as she hadn't even heard him enter. She turned around and saw the Master stood in the doorway. For a moment she thought he was going to shout at her, but he looked more worried than angry. She started to stumble from the lack of magical power she had but managed to steady herself.

"But we need to get him out of here! If they see him they'll…"

"Leave that to me." He walked over to her and took her elbow before leading her back to her bed. "You need to get your rest. I know you want to help, and I'm sure that the nurses are going to appreciate it when you're fully back on your feet but right now you need to rest."

Wendy sat back down on her own bed, and Makarov made sure she had put all of her sensors back on correctly, except the IVs, before walking over to the other side of the room. He sat facing away from her, hunched over a bed she could not see the occupant of. She put the mask back over her mouth and breathed in as much air as she could in order to regain her magic as quickly as possible. After a few minutes, she watched Makarov sitting silently at the other end of the room, and swung her legs off the bed again. She knew that her magic was back up to where it should be, but she knew that if she spoke to the nurses they would make her go through tests first and there wasn't enough time for that. She needed to go and find someone who she could help.

She was sure that if it wasn't for her heightened senses, she wouldn't have heard the groan coming from the room along the corridor. It didn't sound like a groan of pain, but instead, it was fear. Pure unadulterated fear. She moved over to the door, and if she couldn't smell who was in the room a hand-scribbled sign someone had tacked to the wood. _No entrance without eye protection_. She grabbed a pair of glasses and slid them onto her face before she creaked the door open.

The Raijinshuu were lined up in beds opposite the door, each of their faces almost fully covered in oxygen masks. Freed's right eye was covered by a bandage, but his normal eye looked like it was undamaged. Evergreen lay in the middle, bandages wound tightly around her head to obscure her eyes. Wendy could feel that both of them were fully unconscious, but Bickslow was moving around in his bed. His eyes had been bandaged as well, but she could see the magic shining through them as she walked over to his bedside. She could feel that he was asleep, not unconscious but not fully awake either. His hands were clenching and unclenching in his blankets, and his head tossed from side to side. The moans coming from his throat were louder now, and she ran over and stood next to him, holding her hands over his chest. She could feel the physical injuries dotted across his body, but that wasn't what she was focusing on. Even since she had been in the room he had started moving around more, her sense of smell telling her that he his fear was growing by the second and she knew he was at risk of hurting himself more if he continued. She tried to focus on what was making him panic, what was making him move. But no matter how much magic she poured into him, the fear simply increased faster and he started to move more. Wendy paused for a second, wondering if she was making things worse, before realising the increasing of fear was not slowing down and started to try and heal him again. Her eyes were closed as she poured more of her magic into him, and tried to calm him down. She could feel her power flowing through her arms…

She screamed as something grabbed onto her arm, and her eyes shot open. The flow of magic stopped as her concentration broke, and she saw Bickslow grasping onto her arm. The glow of his eyes was almost brighter than the white light from above and tinted all of the bandages green. She tried to tug away, but the man was so much stronger than her.

"Where are they?"

His voice was crackling from the lack of use, but it still sent shivers down her spine. He pulled her closer towards him and she almost stumbled off her feet. The next time he spoke it was raised in a shout, and Wendy could feel the waves of fear rolling off him.

"I can't feel them! Where are they?"

Wendy tried to pull away as she felt tears start to roll down her face but he was too strong. She would never have thought of Bickslow as being strong, but here he was stopping her from moving an inch. She kept trying to pull her arm free, but the hand on her wrist continued to constrict.

"I can go get them, I can…"

Wendy felt the arms around her before she could finish, and looked up to see Jet stood behind her. A few seconds later a nurse rushed in and pushed a needle into Bickslow's IV, before the man's muscles relaxed and he dropped her arm. Wendy turned around, eyes filling up with tears as she finally started to cry. Jet pulled her close to his chest, simply letting her cry.

"I thought I could help, I thought…"

"Unfortunately the thing that's wrong with him isn't physical. Your magic cannot help him any more than our medication can."

The nurse spoke softly, but Wendy could hear a trace of annoyance underneath. The little Dragon Slayer couldn't help but think that in her trying to help she had made the woman's job so much more difficult. Wendy started to sob, and Jet patted at her back. She was feeling weak again, the amount of magic she had poured into Bickslow had really taken it out of her.

"Come on, Wendy. I'll take you back to bed."

Wendy tried to turn and walk, but her legs gave out from under her. Jet caught her as she fell, and lifted her up into his arms like she weighed nothing. The nurse nodded to the both of them as she started to tend to the Raijinshuu, and Wendy buried her face in Jet's shoulder as her tears refused to stop.

She felt her back hit her bed and Jet pulled away, but he made sure to keep a hold of her hand. He grabbed some tissues off the table and passed it to her as she wiped her eyes.

"I'm useless. I couldn't fight off Lin and I can't even help my guildmates now they're in the hospital…"

Jet squeezed her hand tightly as her words were cut off by sobs again. She pulled the blankets around herself and grabbed a hold of her oxygen mask, sticking it back onto her face.

"You're not useless, Wendy. You heard what the nurse said, nothing could have helped him. You need to wait for your magic to replenish, properly this time, and then if we speak to the nurses they should be able to tell you the best thing for you to do to help out."

Wendy continued to sniff, blowing her nose into one of the tissues. Jet stayed at her side, shifting from foot to foot like he always did. Watching his impatience gave Wendy an idea, and she tugged on his hand to get his attention.

"I think his babies might calm him down. He asked me where they were, so maybe if he knows they're safe he won't get so worked up."

Jet nodded. It was a good thought, after all. He had never seen Bickslow without his totems for an extended period of time before, and it made sense for him to freak out as to where they were. Even thought Jet wasn't sure what exactly his totems were, he knew they were souls and that Bickslow was ridiculously attached to them.

"Do you know where they are? Do they even exist while he is unconscious?"

Wendy nodded, taking the mask off her face so she could speak more clearly.

"Gajeel and I got them from out of his apartment. They're in little purple bottles behind the bar at the guild, do you think you can go and get them?"

Jet nodded. The girl looked so tiny in the huge hospital bed, wrapped up in blankets. He passed a glass of water to her before preparing to set off back to the guild hall.

"On one condition. You stay in bed until the nurses agree you can go and help them."

His statement was met with the nurse from before walking into the room and starting to attach all of Wendy's sensors back to her. The Dragon Slayer nodded, and with one last squeeze of her hand, Jet sped out of the room, almost blowing Wendy's blankets off as he did. Wendy scrunched her eyes shut as she felt the needles enter her skin, and she hoped that Jet would be back soon.

* * *

Linzi Conners was stood at the nurse station going through the notes that she had on all of the wizards in her care. So far two wizards had woken up, along with the two exceeds that had been brought in at the same time. She had been told by one of the few awake members of the guild that they should be expecting trouble from all the wizards waking up, but apart from one of them that freaked out at not knowing where one of her friends was and another sneaking out of bed to try and heal her guildmate, they had both been pretty easy to get back into their own bed and back to being treated.

She was preparing to start her rounds again when she heard screaming from the Intensive Care Unit. It was a male voice, and she knew there were no males staying in that unit. She sighed, knowing that the card mage that had been running the operation since she got to the hospital had been right. It really was not going to get easier.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - a massive thank you to Kurahieritr JIO for reminding me I had to put something about them regaining their magic in this, and as always the biggest amount of thanks possible to Gajeelswoman for being such an incredible person.
> 
> See y'all next week!


	51. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer - Between the first and second horizontal lines there is Lemon. So, if you're just here for the plot, feel free to skip**

Makarov walked back into his makeshift office to see Bacchus talking animatedly on the communications lacrima, feet crossed and resting on the desk, while Cana sat in the other chair furiously writing down notes. Another wave of sadness washed over him. Here was one of his children busily working even though she had been through so much while a wizard from another guild entirely was burdened with the job he should be doing.

"And I'm telling you, he is spending time with his family. Now, you can either talk to me or you can sit on your fucking arses until he's finished."

Makarov sighed. He was always worried when one of his children brought a member of another guild into their family, and that panic increased tenfold when he found out that Cana had chosen Bacchus Groh, of all people. But now Makarov listened to him arguing with the council on his behalf, and a smile broke across his face for the first time since he had been pulled from his meeting with the 10 Wizard Saints. He moved over to the other mage and signalled for him to pass over the phone.

"Thank you, Bacchus. I can talk to them now. You and Cana go and get some rest, you deserve it."

Bacchus stood from the chair and passed the lacrima over to the guild master, who jumped up to the desk and prepared to take notes on what the council had to say. Cana stretched up, moaning as both of her shoulders popped, before joining Bacchus at the door. With one last look at the master before she left the room she closed the door to the office behind them and stepped out into the hospital corridor. She knew that if she turned right she could head out of the building and across to the Intensive Care Unit, whereas to the left lay all the other members of her guild. Choosing the right path, she grabbed a hold of Bacchus' arm as she walked along the long corridor. If her memory served her correctly, there should be…

* * *

 

With one hand still grasped onto Bacchus' wrist she tried the door, breathing a sigh of relief when it opened. It was dark inside, but she scrambled around in her bag to pull out the correct card. Activating it so it threw out all the light they would need she tossed it onto one of the shelves in the cupboard, her bag following shortly after. The room was small, but it would do. She ignored the confusion on Bacchus' face as she checked that no one was looking, before pulling him into the cupboard and slamming the door shut behind him. His back hit the door seconds later, and not a moment passed before her mouth crashed into his. He froze in surprise as his mouth moved by instinct alone, and it wasn't until he felt Cana's cold hands fumbling with his belt that he came to his senses. He grabbed her hands in his, forcing them to stop and hold still so he could think clearly.

"Cana?"

His voice was louder than he was anticipating in the small enclosed space that he guessed was a broom cupboard. Cana's eyes looked up at him, shimmering purple in the light, and she pouted as she spoke.

"What, Bacchus?"

Her tone was annoyed and clipped and she struggled against his grasp, but Bacchus' magic was in his hands and she didn't have a chance of winning. She tried kissing him again but he pulled away, making the most of the few inches of height he had on her.

"What are you doing, sweetheart?"

Cana moaned, pressing her chest up against his. He clenched his teeth as her breasts rubbed against his bare skin and cursed at his crotch for reacting so strongly.

"I'm tired of the sadness, I'm tired of being fucking useless. I need to do something I'm good at, and I need the release."

Bacchus forced her hands behind her back, wrapping his own arms around her waist. He dropped his head down to her shoulder, revelling in the softness of her hair and the slight scent of sweat that covered her. His lips moved against her skin as he spoke, but for once she didn't giggle at the sensation. Something had to be seriously wrong for her not to be ticklish.

"Babe, you're not useless. You've been brilliant, so much better than anyone would have…"

Her skin was torn away from his and he looked up to see her face twisted in anger. He hadn't been with her for long, but he knew that she didn't like it when she didn't get her own way.

"Are you going to keep arguing? Because I can go and find someone el…"

Her sentence trailed off as Bacchus spun them both around, and before she knew what was happening she was crushed between the hard wood of the door and the solid mass that was his body. His mouth was back on hers, kissing her deeply and desperately and something in the back of her head told her that he needed it as much as she did. Her hands roamed over his back as his fingers made short work of the clasp at the front of her trousers and they hit the floor along with her underwear seconds later. His trousers followed soon after, and before she knew it his hands were on her thighs, pulling them around his waist as he entered her.

Their moans were muffled by each other's mouths as Bacchus started to move inside of her. He picked up a fast rhythm, and Cana was left clasping onto his shoulders for support. His movements were frantic, and his mouth devoured hers as if he needed her for survival. Their fucking sessions had never been particularly gentle, but this was hurried and urgent and exactly what she needed. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she came, and she felt the grunt escape into her mouth as he followed soon after. It hadn't been romantic, and it hadn't been the best sex she had ever had, but it was exactly the thing to make her better. He pulled out of her, dropping her to the floor before fastening his trousers back up. Cana's knees were weak, but she managed to pull her trousers back up over her hips before leaning back against the door. Bacchus propped himself up on his arm over the top of her head, and kissed her hair.

"You feeling better now, babe?"

Cana nodded, pulling him closer by his waist and this time just enjoying the warmth of his skin on hers.

"Thank you. For understanding."

He didn't reply, simply winding his spare arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. He felt her breath dance across her skin as she sighed, and closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling as completely as he could. He didn't know how long they both stood there, purely enjoying each other's company until it was interrupted by a deafening scream from somewhere outside their sanctuary. Bacchus pulled away, smiling down at his woman as he did.

"No rest for the wicked, eh babe?"

* * *

 

The noises of the hospital around him got slowly more deafening as Cobra started to regain consciousness. He tried to bury his head further down in the hard pillow he had been provided with, but it was useless. He may as well had been resting his head on a brick for all of the comfort it was providing him. As soon as the noises were drowning out his own thoughts, he yanked his heavy hands up to his ears, only to be greeted by a blaring siren that chased away the last of his sleep. His eye shot open, and he looked around frantically for a way, any way, to make that incessant noise stop.

He could see wires hanging off his bed, and knew that it had set off an alarm in whatever machine they had been connected to. He looked down at the last two wires that were the only thing between him and sanity and ripped them off his skin. He ignored the pain that shot up his arms, it was nothing compared to the pounding in his head anyway and clasped his hands over his ears as he stumbled out of the bed in search of silence. He vaguely sensed the other Dragon Slayers in the room as his shoulder barged into door. Despite the sound of the alarm fading slightly the noise of the rest of the hospital flowed into his ears, and he struggled to pinpoint just where was the quietest. The smell of fresh air entered his nose from somewhere to the right, and he forced his still painful legs to move one in front of the other to reach the outside. If he got outside, he could get away from the hospital and away from the noise that was currently assaulting his ears.

His shoulder connected with the door to the outside, and when it slammed closed he enjoyed the brief respite it gave him. He removed his hands from his ears, testing which direction to go into which would be the most useful to him. He strained his hearing for the closest gap in noise he could hear and headed in that direction. As he walked past the open window of one of the rooms, a scent he had never expected to smell here wafted into his nose. He had just enough time to curse before all control was ripped from him.

He heard the shattering of the glass as what he assumed was his own hand shot through the window to the side of him. He could see he had entered Dragon Force without his knowledge, something that had happened many times before, but all he really cared about was getting to Kinana and making sure she was safe.

As soon as his hand made contact with the glass he could see a wall of iron spring up between him and the beds on the other side, the glass from the window clinking off it and falling to the floor. A growl erupted from his throat, and before he knew what was happening he had climbed through the window, his shoulder connecting with the metal on the other side. It didn't budge and he stepped back in order to take a run up to the barrier again. When it still didn't even dent he placed his palms to the cold of the metal and allowed his poison to seep out of his hands and along the smooth surface. It wasn't long until he picked up the sizzle as the iron eroded away underneath his fingers. He could hear periodic growling from the other side and it made every hair on his body stand on end, but he continued his work on the wall until he had made a hole big enough to clamber through. He landed on the other side, standing up to his full height before he saw the next obstacle in front of him.

Gajeel was stood blocking his path, arms crossed in front of him while his skin covered in iron and shadows whipped around him. A growl came from deep within his throat and Cobra replied with one of his own. The poison Dragon Slayer pulled his arm back, fist clenched tightly before he powered it forward towards the other man's face. Before it could connect it was caught firmly in Gajeel's hand, and both men growled, each sizing the other up without speaking. Cobra narrowed his eye, staring into the bright white of Gajeel's. He could no longer hear the steady breathing of the girl he had came here for under the growls that filled his ears, and he relaxed his arm down to his side. He took a step forward, but the other man refused to let him pass. Cobra wasn't used to begging, but when it came to her…

"Please. I just… I need to see Kinana. I won't touch Levy. I don't know why, but I need to make sure she's okay."

Gajeel stared at the man opposite him, the Dragon inside of him sensing his. He had felt the Dragon rise when the other man was outside the window of the hospital room and had managed to throw up a barrier in time when he realised he was planning on breaking through the goddamn window. Now he could sense the Dragon in front of him shrinking away, starting to ask for his permission to pass. Cobra's Dragon was submitting to him like a hatchling did around much older individuals in the nest. His own Dragon felt the immediate danger subsiding and smirked. Gajeel stepped to the side, allowing the other man through before returning to his post at the side of Levy's bed.

Cobra made his way over to the bed, able to fully hear her heartbeat now the growling had died down. There was still beeping coming from the many machines in the room, but all of his senses had zeroed in on the girl in front of him. Her thoughts were all over the place, tiny snippets of noise that told her she was deep in a dream. At least she was happy. His eye glanced over her skin that was exposed and he recognised the marks that littered the surface. He had seen them many times before, they were poison burns. The ones that occurred after his victims had been burned by his acid. This was his magic, his power that they used to hurt her. All of the adrenaline drained from his system and was replaced with utter despair. He fell to his knees at the side of the bed as his ears were filled with the scream that unintentionally left his mouth.

* * *

**A/N - Many thanks to everyone for their reviews and comments on the last couple of chapters, and thanks once again to the wonderful amazing Gajeelswoman for sarcastically pointing out that Bacchus does not have a button on his trousers.**


	52. Chapter 52

Cana and Bacchus ran into the ICU, looking around for what had caused the scream that had pulled them from their cupboard. The first thing they saw was Gajeel sitting next to Levy's bedside, hand clasped over hers and they realised if there had been any danger he would have reacted to it already. Cana looked around, spotting a new person in the room. The dark red hair was alien to her, and it was only the person in the bed he was sat next to that gave her a clue as to who it was. She walked over, standing next to the man and unsure what to do. He kneeled on the floor, face pressed into the blankets as he sobbed so heavily each breath wracked his entire body. She looked up at the nurse that had run into the room behind them and mimed that she was doing fine with calming the Dragon Slayer down. The nurse left the room again, muttering to herself and Cana turned back to the man on the floor. If it had been any member of Fairy Tail she would have wrapped them up into a hug, but it wasn't. Instead, she rested an arm on his shoulder, only for it to be shrugged off in seconds.

"Don't. I can't... I can't trust myself to control the poison right now. My skin could become toxic any second. Don't put yourself in danger for me."

His voice was cracking as he spoke barely above a whisper, and Cana kneeled down on the floor next to him. His sobbing had turned to keening, and the noise shot straight through her and made tears well up in her own eyes.

"You're Cobra, right? I could find you some gloves, or something to block your magic so you can hold her hand?"

His head shook on the bed, but it took him a couple of minutes for the crying to cease to a point where he could speak.

"It won't help. These burns are from my poison, and I've seen the pain in people's eyes when they're touched, up to a week after they've been inflicted. I can sense she'd been covered in them, there's not a single fucking inch of her skin that isn't damaged."

There was a hiss from the next bed over as Gajeel retracted his hands away from Levy's, her skin almost as covered in burns as Kinana's. Cobra didn't notice and carried on with his own lamenting.

"I can't even fucking hold her. I can't let her know I'm here."

Cana couldn't think of what to do, just stared at the back of his head as he lay as close to Kinana as he could without touching her, both of his hands clenched so tightly in the blankets that his nails tore through the fabric. She looked at Kinana's face, covered in ugly welts which had started to turn purple and bruise underneath. The nurses had assured her they would be able to get rid of them completely with the right amount of healing magic, but for the time being there were more pressing injuries to focus on. Cana wanted to talk to Cobra, wanted to take his mind off what was happening but didn't know how. In the end, she ended up saying the first thing that came into her head.

"She really misses you, you know."

His shoulders tensed, but his sobbing abated slightly. She took it as a good sign and continued to talk.

"She doesn't say it, but she doesn't have to. You can see it in the way she looks at the other couples and the way she perks up when someone mentions Crime Sorciere. I think..."

She heard a growl erupt from his throat, and slammed her mouth shut. Obviously, he didn't want her talking about them.

"No... I'm sorry, that's not what I meant." His voice was quiet, making her strain her ears and a wave of panic washed over her when she realised he could hear exactly what she was thinking.

"I don't want you to stop. Please, keep talking. Just. Quieter. I need to hear her when she wakes up."

Cana nodded, dropping her voice down to a whisper, knowing he could hear her.

"You should come and visit us sometime. Jellal is over so often I'm sure Master wouldn't mind. We can get the Strauss' to cover the bar and you two can join us for drinks. Or, you know, I could get Erza to go on a long job and the two of you could lock yourselves in her dorm and not come out for a week."

She heard him snort and smiled to herself. She continued to talk, about everything and nothing at all, just trying to distract the Dragon Slayer from what was happening in front of them. He occasionally snorted, but mostly kept his attention on the girl in the bed. At some point, his hand had moved up into her hair and he started to twirl the strands around in his fingers. She didn't know how long she stayed there, talking to him about life in Fairy Tail until the master entered the room and addressed everyone who was awake.

* * *

 

Bacchus stood in the doorway of the room, staring at the Iron Dragon Slayer in front of him. He hadn't seen the man since they had taken down Lin together, and he looked tired. There were heavy bags under his eyes and Bacchus wondered if he had even slept since they had got there. Gajeel's nose twitched, and Bacchus froze as he realised he other man could smell what he had been doing with Cana minutes before. Intense guilt washed over him, he hadn't expected to be found out let alone by Gajeel of all people.

"I…"

The Dragon Slayer waved his hand, shrugging and turning back to look at the blue haired girl on the bed.

"Don't worry, I don't blame you. Sorry about your nose, by the way."

Bacchus touched the bandage that covered his nose. Someone had offered to use healing magic to heal it completely, but he had insisted they used it on one of the injured mages instead. The healing magic was hard enough to come by as it was. Bacchus grabbed one of the spare chairs that had been abandoned near the entrance to the room and pulled it up beside Gajeel. He looked like he could use some company, and Cana was currently trying to calm the other Dragon Slayer in the room.

"Hey, no need to apologise. I wasn't gonna be winning any beauty contests anyway. How's she doing?"

Gajeel hung his head down lower, and Bacchus could hear a sigh from deep in his throat. He looked down at his gourd and offered it to Gajeel to try and help him through trying to describe the girl's injuries.

"I'm not technically meant to have this in the hospital, but I thought you might want it to take the edge off, you know? Dunno how well you're taking this, I know how I would feel if Cana was, you know…"

His voice trailed off as he was unsure exactly how to word what he was thinking. Gajeel suddenly hissed, pulling his hand away from Levy's and Bacchus stared in confusion until the Dragon Slayer looked at him, taking a deep breath as he did.

"I'm okay, but thank you. She's doing better, the nurses say she's out of danger for now and they're just keeping her in a coma so she can heal further. Her magic is regenerating slowly, but the majority of her energy is going into healing her body right now."

Bacchus nodded, looking around the room trying to work out what to say. He had never really been the type of person who knew how to console others, and it was even more difficult with someone who was watching his whole world lie in a hospital bed, covered in burns and fighting for her life. He drummed his fingers on his knees impatiently, clutching at straws, before realising that he might like to hear some good news from the others in the guild.

"Some of the guys are starting to wake up. Lucy and Wendy are up and talking, and Pantherlily is looking after the other two Exceeds. You can see Cobra is awake, and the nurses have said that they don't think it's going to be long before the others are up as well. And, you know, the more people are up and healed the more healing magic they can spare for Levy."

Gajeel nodded, he had leant over and began to stroke Levy's forehead, one of the only places she hadn't been burned by Cobra's poison. Bacchus struggled for something else to say before Gajeel solved the issue for him.

"Have you heard from the Council?"

The drunken mage sighed, he knew the information he had was not what Gajeel wanted to know.

"Yeah. They've taken him in and are treating him at the moment. He hasn't woken up yet, we did a bit of a number on him. Your Master has been stuck talking to them for a while so I guess he is going to tell us as soon as he wakes up."

"He's awake."

Bacchus spun around to see the older man walking into the room and waited until everyone's eyes were on him.

"They're about to take him into questioning and I am going to go and attend. I just wanted to ask if you could stay here for a little while longer and organise for me, Bacchus?"

The mage nodded, and stood to return to the office with Makarov. Cana looked at him, asking him silently if he wanted her to help but he shook his head. It looked like the other Dragon Slayer needed her for a little while longer yet. They walked back along to the office and Makarov looked up to him.

"Thank you for this, Bacchus. If you need to go back home I could get someone from the guild hall to come over here."

Bacchus shook his head. Cana had left some of the other fighters at the guild hall for a reason. If it became popular knowledge that the majority of Fairy Tail were currently out of action a fair few dark guilds would spring up out of seemingly nowhere to take them down.

"You'll get in touch with us as soon as he says anything? I'm sure everyone wants to know what he says."

Makarov nodded, holding the door to the office open so Bacchus could enter. Bacchus stepped into the office, returning to the desk and grabbing the lacrima which had already started to ring. Makarov looked concerned but Bacchus waved him away. They would need someone on the inside of the council for unbiased information anyway, and he could think of no one better than Makarov for that. He watched the Guild Master leave and decided he would ask one of the nurses to wheel a bed into the office. Cana could do with some rest while he sorted this out.

* * *

 

Rogue's eyes blinked open, and he swallowed the panic that was threatening to erupt from his throat. There had to be a logical explanation for this. He could feel needles tugging at his skin, and by the look of the ceiling, he was in a hospital and not some weird torture dungeon like he had been before. Someone had got them out. He inhaled through his nose and smelt Sting close to him and as he tilted his head to the right he could see a shock of blonde hair laying on the pillow of the bed next to him. He allowed himself to sigh. Sting was ok.

He looked around his bed, finding a red button lying on the table next to him. He should call the nurses, tell them he was awake and try to find some information as to what happened. He needed to make sure that Frosch was ok as well. It was only a few seconds after he pressed the button that a nurse came in, looking confused as she made her way over to the bed.

"Did you press the button?"

Rogue looked up at her in confusion. Of course he had pressed the button, what else would he have done? The nurse must have seen what he was thinking as she spoke to him as she started to read the numbers on the front of his machine.

"It's just that you're the first person to actually tell us you'd woken up. One girl freaked out, and two others went AWOL. It makes a nice change. How are you feeling?"

Rogue tried to sink into the bed, disappointed when he felt only one pillow beneath him. He assessed his body quickly as the nurse slipped a blood pressure cuff over his arm and formulated a response.

"I feel a bit drained but other than that I'm fine. Have you heard from my guild?"

The nurse wrote down more numbers from the machine and smiled at him. Anywhere else he would have walked away and ignored her, but right now he needed information from her.

"Miss Alberona contacted them as soon as you came in here. She said to tell you that the rest of the guild, including Frosch and Lector are safe. They were going to make their way over to the hospital but Miss Alberona suggested it might be wise for them to stay there in case there was a larger plot behind this man's actions."

Rogue nodded, despite the strength in the rest of the guild if someone found out the two resident Dragon Slayers had been taken out they might feel like they could attack the guild. The rest of the guild should be able to hold it down just fine, but for safety,  he would rather the other powerhouses hadn't left the guild hall. There was just one more thing he was worried about.

"One last question, could you tell me how Sting is? He's my… He's…"

"Your twin, I know."

The nurse smiled down at him, and Rogue could feel himself blushing. His fingers started to play with the edge of the blanket, and the nurse continued with her explanation.

"I saw the two of you in the Grand Magic Games. You were pretty incredible, if I may say so myself. He's doing well, he should be up soon. You two are so close we couldn't discern which would wake up earlier, you know. That's the thing with twins I guess."

Rogue winced as she pulled the needles from his hands and covered them quickly with plasters. He knew Sting would have corrected her immediately, but he wasn't about to shout out about their relationship to this woman he had never met.

"Yeah, he's my twin. We'll leave it at that."

The nurse ignored his mumbling and continued to test various vital signs as she switched over his sensors. After a while, she placed everything back onto her cart and addressed him directly.

"I think we're going to want to keep you in for a while longer, just to make sure there aren't any long-term side effects, but you should be ok to walk around a bit if you feel up to it. The canteen is down the hall to the left, and the room directly to your right is being used as an office by Fairy Tail so you should be able to contact your guild. I'll send a doctor around to test you and see if you can be released as soon as one is free."

Rogue nodded. He wasn't quite up to walking that far yet, but it was good to know he could call his guild whenever he wanted. All that mattered to him now was getting Sting back to full strength.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N  - Two quick notes on this one. Firstly, this fic is now over 150,000 words long. I. I can't deal with this. Secondly, in this version of the universe the former members of Oracion Seis broke out of jail of their own accord and was later found by Crime Sorciere. I got my timelines in a twist and forgot they didn't join Crime Sorciere until midway through the Tartoros arc. It will come into play later on. I'm sorry for my dim.


	53. Chapter 53

Nurse Conners walked down the corridor, checking that no other patients had escaped their beds after she found a Dragon Slayer in the ICU. She looked into the room which was holding three mages with an eye magic that they had to be careful of, despite knowing that none of them was close to being able to wake up yet and was glad that she did. Five objects had started to float about the room, a sure sign that the blue haired mage in the room needed a top up of sedatives. It had scared the hell out of one of the other nurses the first time it had happened, but when they had asked the guild's master they had been told that the man was a telepathy mage, and he must have been doing it in his sleep.

She pulled one of the large pairs of glasses onto her face as she stepped into the room, bending down into one of the cabinets to pull out supplies. It was getting close to the time she would need to change their bandages anyway so she may as well do it while she was here. She pulled out a large needle and pressed it into the man's IV as he started to audibly moan and waited for it to take effect, watching as the medical instruments slowly floated to the floor and stop moving. She thought she saw the purple bottles that someone had placed to the side of his bed start to swirl, but put it down to the amount of work she had been doing recently.

As soon as the man was out she started to unwrap the bandages from around his eyes. He hadn't had any apparent injuries to his eyes, but as he had been found with two other victims with severe damage to their eyes they were keeping them bandaged both for his and their own safety. As soon as the bandages were removed she opened his eyelids to inspect inside only to jump back at the flashing green pupils she saw. Maybe he hadn't been knocked unconscious as quickly as she thought and she was suddenly glad she was such a stickler for the rules. As soon as she was happy his eyes were in good condition she wasted no time rebandaging them. She wasn't proud to admit it, but she was slightly creeped out by the man with his facial tattoo. She systematically checked and cleaned all of his other wounds, double checked all of his vital signs, before moving onto the next mage in the room.

The woman's eyes were definitely the most heavily injured, and Linzi didn't think she would ever forget the first time she unwrapped the bloody bandages to see the woman's eyelids sewn open underneath. The holes had healed to small scabs now, but the damage done to her eyes by the extended time held open would not heal so easily. Her pupils were a bright fluorescent green, and they had been warned that if someone were to look into them without the protection of glass they would be turned to stone until she came back around, if the mage was even able to turn them back now she wasn't able to use her eyes. That was a fate that Linzi definitely wanted to avoid. The nurse spent time cleaning all of her wounds before making a note on her charts and moving onto the last mage.

He was definitely the least injured of the three of them, his left eye had remained untouched and was a normal unfocused turquoise when Linzi had checked it. She removed the bandage over the other eye, and once again her breath was taken away when she opened it. The white of his eye had turned to a blue so dark it was almost black, and the iris and pupil looked like a galaxy. It was strangely beautiful in an odd way. She checked his vital signs, despite the damage to his eyes and his shoulders he hadn't had any physical injuries but he was suffering from severe Magic Deficiency Disease and that was what was delaying his waking up. Happy all of the mages in that room were dealt with, she headed back to her station to update their records.

* * *

 

Sting didn't notice anything was wrong for the longest amount of time. The lack of pillow could be easily explained away by Rogue's undeniable habit of stealing all of their bedding in the middle of the night, and at the start, all he could smell was the Shadow Dragon Slayer's scent completely enveloping him. It was only when he started to smell other Dragon Slayers along with the sharp tang of antiseptic that he realised something wasn't quite correct. He peeled his eyes open to see his partner sat next to him, fully clothed with his head resting on Sting's stomach. The White Dragon Slayer smirked, enjoying the familiar sight of the black hair fanned out across the hospital bedsheets. He could faintly remember coming across a man in the forests outside of Magnolia who matched the description of who they were looking for, a moment of blinding pain shooting through his head before he could remember nothing else. He shook his head, he could worry about that later, for now, something was much more important.

"If you really wanted to give me a good wake up you need to go a couple of inches further down."

He felt Rogue snort in amusement and was about to move his hands to entwine in his hair before the other man moved, bringing his face up to Sting's. The blonde could see that he had been crying, but before he could ask anything Rogue shot forward, taking Sting's mouth in his and kissing him desperately. The White Dragon Slayer froze. Rogue hated personal displays of affection with a passion, something really had to be wrong for him to be kissing him with other people around. He pushed that to the back of his mind, melting into his partner's kiss and bringing his hand up to rest on his cheek. The moment was ruined by an alarm blaring to the side of them as he pulled off one of his sensors, but he didn't care. He moaned when Rogue pulled away, a blush immediately covering his cheeks. Sting grinned as a nurse ran into the room and Rogue quickly apologised for the disturbance. He watched as the nurse started checking his vital signs, before turning to his guildmate.

"How's Lector? How are the rest of the guild?"

Rogue sat back in his chair, one hand resting on Sting's thigh. The nurse's eyes widened for a second, but to her credit, she continued with her job without saying a word.

"They're okay. I spoke to them a little while ago and they're eager for their Master's return."

Sting batted Rogue's hand. He was always like this, always downplaying the role he had in his own guild's lives.

"And you. They're waiting for you too."

They smiled at each other, momentarily lost in each other's eyes before the nurse coughed.

"It looks like you have recovered well, we just need to keep you here for observation for a while but you are free to dress and…"

"That won't be necessary."

Sting's voice was authoritative, his role as guild master kicking in. The nurse paused for a second, clipboard in hand.

"Thank you for all that you have done, but we will have to get back to our guild. We have a specialist in healing magic so we will be fine there."

The nurse nodded, mentioning she would go and get the papers for them to be discharged as Rogue narrowed his eyes at the man in the bed.

"We don't have a healer in our guild, Sting."

Sting smiled one of those charismatic smiles that shot straight into his soul, reaching over to his bedside table to return his earring into his ear.

"But we have books. And we have a Rufus. Are you feeling up to taking us back home or should I call him to come and get us?"

Rogue sighed, Sting was so cocky he was flippant about his own health. He nodded, knowing he could take a couple of breaks on the journey until they got there if he needed to. Sting grinned again, stepping out of bed and stripping out of his hospital robes to put on the clothes he found next to his bead. It was only then that he noticed that Rogue wasn't wearing his normal clothes, but what he was wearing was still very familiar.

"Are… are you wearing Natsu's clothes?"

Rogue blushed, and tried to pull the open coat around him to cover up his bare chest. Sting took a step closer to him and pulled his arms away so he could look down his torso. Rogue spoke quietly, almost shrinking under Sting's gaze.

"We didn't have any clothes on us so Jet went and got some clothes he found around the guild hall. He thought these would fit us."

Sting ran his fingers up Rogue's abs, contemplating them for a second before speaking up.

"You know, I don't know how I feel about that. On the one hand, it's fucking awful because it messes with your scent, but on the other, you dressing up as Natsu is… kinda hot."

Rogue's Dragon growled deep in his throat as he blushed all over. Sting grinned, leaning forward to kiss him on his nose.

"That's not funny, Sting. I know you had a crush on Natsu but…"

Sting stopped him from speaking by kissing him, before moving away and tugging at his cheek. Rogue crossed his arms again, scowling up at him.

"You're so cute when you get all jealous, Rogue."

He left Rogue sulking as he turned around, picking up the clothes he had been left and holding them up. The top was striped and pulled up over his head into a hood, and the trousers were baggy and far too long for him. He looked at them in confusion before looking back at Rogue.

"Who the fuck do these clothes even belong to? They're fucking ridiculous."

Rogue chuckled under his breath. Although he was technically taller than Rogue, he had decided against the clothes that were on offer. He would rather have clothes that fitted and barely covered his torso than clothes that were far too big. Plus, they were kind of stupid

"I think they're Freed's friend's… You know the really tall one?"

Sting's face twisted into one of disgust as he looked at them, but in the end, he started to pull them on.

"The weird one? Eurgh. I don't even want to imagine what messed up shit he has done in these."

A shiver ran through his body as he jumped back onto the bed, picking up some white metal from the bedside and tossing it into his mouth. Rogue smiled softly before joining his partner on the bed and holding onto his hand. The both of them were safe, and that's all that mattered.

* * *

 

After the nurse had officially discharged the both of them they started to make their way out of the hospital towards the office Fairy Tail had been using in order to call their guild and let them know they were on their way. They walked past Lucy, lying on top of Natsu fast asleep and waved back at Wendy as the young Dragon Slayer smiled at them. They turned out into the corridor and even made it to the next room along before Sting stopped, and grabbed a hold of Rogue's arm to halt him too.

"Do you smell Freed?"

Rogue sniffed at the air, managing to discern the Rune Mage now he was actively looking for him. Sting veered to the left, dragging Rogue with him to a room to the left. He checked there was no one around watching them before ducking in, closing the door behind Rogue as he made his way over to green haired mage in the furthest bed. Sting sat on one side of the bed as Rogue went to look at the vitals on the machine.

"Wow, he looks bad."

Sting nodded in agreement, leaning over to brush Freed's hair out of his face. Rogue stood next to the bed, watching the two of them before he spoke.

"We need to get going back to the guild. He has his friends here, he'll be alright."

Sting sighed. Rogue was right, like usual. He leant forward to press his lips against Freed's forehead before standing up, watching Rogue do the same before they both walked out of the room and headed towards the office.

Sting opened the door without even using any other senses to see who was behind it, a habit that Rogue absolutely despised. The door banged against the wall, and Bacchus grinned from behind the desk, slamming his hand on a communications lacrima in front of him to stop the call before waving a hand at the two Dragon Slayers.

"Yo. The fuck are you wearing?"

Sting looked at him in confusion, walking into the room slowly in case there was a threat. _Better late than never_ Rogue thought, not surprised at the appearance of the Drunken Mage having seen him when he contacted his guild earlier in the day.

"Bickslow's clothes… what are you doing here?"

Bacchus laughed as Sting went to sit on a bed that had been dragged into the corner of the room. He'd never let anyone see, but he was still slightly worn down from having his magic taken.

"I'm helping out the fairies for the time being. Don't worry about me."

Sting looked up at him, feeling slightly awkward at what the man said. He was a guild master, Fairy Tail could use his help while theirs was off doing whatever he was doing. Bacchus must have seen what he was thinking because he spoke up.

"Don't worry about it. Your guild needs their guild master and their… whatever Rogue does." Sting was about to yell at the man for belittling his partner, but he continued with his sentence.

"You two head back. I'll call your guild now and let them know you're on the way."

Sting felt Rogue put his hand on his shoulder, and it wasn't long until he felt the familiar feeling of his shadow's enveloping them. It would take a while over such a long distance, but they were finally on their way home.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N ... I actually had Gajevy planned for this chapter but didn't have time to write it in the end. Forgive me?
> 
> As always, a huge thanks to the incredible Gajeelswoman for telling me how dumb I am with only the smallest amount of sass.


	54. Chapter 54

"How could you let this happen? How can you call yourself a Dragon Slayer when you can't even kill a single Dragon?"

The words reverberated in Natsu's head as he relived his vision from the start again. Lucy had melted away into nothing, and he was back staring at the monster of a dragon that stood over the remains of the guildhall. Something in the very back of his head was telling him that this wasn't real, but his body was so shot full of adrenaline he wasn't listening. Lucy's scent has gotten stronger with every repeat of the delusion but now it was so strong he thought she was right beside him. When he got back to the Cathedral Lucy's screams never stopped, and she simply sat there, staring at him with her bloody eyes and mouth locked open. He crouched down in front of her, grabbing a hold of her shoulders and shaking them, trying to pull her out of her screams.

His eyes shot open, and he saw the white hospital ceiling above him. His breathing was ragged, and he felt a fire burning up inside of his body. What the fuck was going on?

"Natsu?"

The voice was quiet, and he moved his head up to see Lucy staring up at him, fingers entwined in his. As soon as he saw her, everything came flooding back. The church they had gone to, Lucy turning to stone in front of him. Lin.

"Where the fuck is he? I'll kill him."

He struggled to stand, but Lucy shot forward and held him down. Her body spread over his as alarms started to blare around them, and he took a moment before wrapping his own arms around her back, anger dissipating. Nurses ran into the room, and Lucy sat back up as they started to busy themselves with his sensors. She looked into his eyes, resting her hands on his bed but moving out of the way of all of the nurses.

"He's been taken into custody. The Master is at his questioning at the moment."

Natsu growled in frustration, and one of the nurses jumped back, the Dragon Slayer not even noticing what he had done he was so engrossed with the Celestial mage.

"What! Who took him out?"

Tears started to well up in Lucy's eyes, but Natsu didn't notice as the nurses slipped a blood pressure cuff on his arm. Lucy's voice made it into his ears, answering his question as he reached over to grab the fire the nurses had kept burning next to him and shove it into his mouth.

"Gajeel and Bacchus took him down, but…"

"I'll kill them! That bastard was mine!"

The nurses finished writing everything down and left them to it. They had a feeling this was not going to go very well, and they had been told that the best people to calm down the Fairy Tail mages was other guild members. Natsu looked a Lucy and saw tears starting to stream down her face. He paused, anger starting to dissipate slightly.

"Natsu… Levy isn't doing too well. You might want to leave Gajeel alone for a while. And Bacchus has been helping us all out so much… I know you're angry, but it's all over. We're all safe."

Natsu slumped back down onto the bed, eyes closing as he did. Suddenly he was exhausted and he wanted nothing more than to slip back into a sleep that wasn't plagued with nightmares.

"I'll fight them when this is all over if I take them both down I'm stronger than him, right?"

Lucy contemplated for a second. She could tell him about the rune trap they had used, but for now, the idea of fighting the two other mages appeared to calm him down so she just nodded, leaning forward to push his hair out of his face. She could stay there for a little bit longer.

* * *

 

Gajeel smelled Pantherlily coming closer way before he entered the room and turned his head where it was laying on the bed until he could look at the door. Cana had been talking about everything and nothing since the Master left, and her voice had given him something to focus on that wasn't the beeping of Levy's machines and her steady breathing. He watched as his cat walked in, fully transformed into his battle mode with an exceed in each arm. Gajeel sighed in exasperation.

"What do you have on your arms?"

Lily looked at his arms confused for a second, trying to see if there was anything he had missed underneath the exceeds before he realised what Gajeel was getting at. He shot the Dragon Slayer a levelled look that was well practiced through living with the man. To Gajeel's credit, he didn't break his stride.

"Why have you got those two idiots?"

Lily sat down on the chair that Bacchus had vacated, making sure not to jolt the two smaller exceeds in his arms. He looked over at Cobra and Cana, raising an eyebrow in confusion before deciding not to say anything.

"They need the beds, and these two don't technically need them. None of the machines works on them anyway so I'm looking after them. How is Levy doing?"

Gajeel put his face back into the blankets of the bed, trying to block out the too-bright lights of the hospital. He had gone over it so many times, but it never got any easier.

"She's stabilised but she's using up all of her energy on healing right now. It's going to take a while for her to come back around at the current pace. Wendy is still to injured to help her, and none of the other healers are strong enough to have much effect."

Lily's jaw was set firm. He wanted to lean forward and pat his friend on the back, but he knew that wouldn't help. There was only one person who could help him out now, and she wasn't going to be waking up for a while. He was about to open his mouth again before Gajeel continued with his sentence.

"Look, I need you to go and put them with their Dragon Slayers and get over to the Magic Council for me."

Lily leant back in the chair to get a more comfortable position, crossing his legs in front of him. Staying in his larger form for the extended period time he had was starting to drain his magic, and he knew he would have to put the other two exceeds down at some point anyway.

"I thought that Master Makarov was already at the…"

Gajeel looked up from the blankets again, making Lily stop. The man obviously wasn't in the mood to be told anything against what he wanted right now.

"I know he is. But I don't trust him to tell me everything that's said, not like I trust you. Old man's too soft, he'll try to spare my feelings. You spent time in the police, you know what's happening."

Lily sighed, closing his eyes for a second. He could try to argue with Gajeel, sure, but that usually didn't go well even if he wasn't already stressed out. He stood to his feet, turning to leave the room before turning and speaking back over his shoulder.

"I'll pick up a communications lacrima and keep you updated, you'll keep me up to date on how Levy's doing?"

Gajeel nodded, and with that Lily was out of the door. The exceed knew that Gajeel probably wouldn't remember to call him if there was any news, but at least he could make sure he let the man know what was happening with the trial.

As soon as Lily left a silence fell over the room, no one really wanting to break it. It was a few minutes of listening to the beeping of the machines before Cobra spoke from the other bed.

"Was it you, Gajeel? Was it you that took him down?"

Cana looked between the two Dragon Slayers, both sat next to their respective women and refusing to look at each other. Gajeel grunted, before speaking into the blankets, knowing Cobra could hear.

"Yeah, it was me and Bacchus."

Cobra scoffed, and Cana could see his snarl.

"You should have fucking killed him."

A silence fell over the room again. Gajeel couldn't deny that he had thought about it, probably wouldn't have hesitated if the two other men hadn't pulled him off the bastard. Cana couldn't speak, not really knowing what to say to dissolve the tension in the room. She stared down at her hands, twisting them over each other when she heard a cry of anguish from out in the corridor. She went to chase after it before turning around and looking at Cobra. The Dragon Slayer looked up, the tiniest of smiles spreading across his face.

"Go. Thank you, for keeping me company, but your guild needs you. Go to them."

Cana nodded slightly, silently thanking Cobra for his understanding and knowing he could hear her thoughts before turning and running out of the room.

* * *

 

Cana ran into the corridor to see a nurse scream and jump out of the room that the Raijinshuu were being held in. Adding that to the fact that the entire corridor was crackling with electricity and causing the lights to flicker, Cana figured out who had woken up pretty quickly. She ran down past the nurse to see Laxus on his knees. He hadn't made it more than a few inches into the door before he had collapsed, tears rolling down his face. He was gripping onto his left-hand side, and Cana could see blood starting to seep through the bandages wrapped around his chest. Laxus never was one to look after his injuries well. The nurse looked at her and Cana indicated she could handle it, hoping that she was actually telling the truth. She grabbed two pairs of glasses from the wall, slipping one pair over her eyes before trying to hand the others to Laxus. There was no point in trying to get him out before he calmed down.

"Laxus? Do you want to put these on so they can't hurt you?"

"How the fuck can they hurt me? Look what he did to them!"

His voice echoed around the room, and the nurse took another step back. Laxus' hand flailed towards his followers as he spoke before he fell to the side and slammed heavily onto the floor. His voice dropped to a whisper, choking out between tears.

"And I was useless. I did nothing."

Cana squatted down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder before jerking it away when she was shocked. She sat herself down on the floor, hoping her proximity to him would help him calm down even if it was only slightly. She was about to speak when he whispered again.

"Maybe I deserve for them to hurt me."

Another nurse entered the room, and Cana shooed her away. An unstable Laxus was a dangerous thing, and she couldn't risk people getting hurt. She scooted over so he could see her, lying down to stare into his eyes.

"You know you were the only one who could fight after being teleported? Not even…"

"BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH!" His eyes had shot open, and there was an explosion behind her when one of the machines blew out from the amount of electricity coursing through it. Laxus did have a tendency to mess with anything electrical, and Cana knew she had to calm him down before he caused any serious damage to the occupants of the room.

"Hey, Sparky. You're messing with the equipment, you need to calm down."

Laxus groaned, tears continuing to make tracks down his cheeks. Cana moved forward, enduring occasional shocks as she pulled his head into her chest and allowed him to cry. She looked up at the nurses who were cowering outside of the door.

"Is it possible to get his bed moved in here? And as many blankets and pillows as possible?"

The nurses looked between each other, not sure whether they should obey the orders this woman was giving them. In the end, they decided it was probably best for everyone if they did, and disappeared off to move the Dragon Slayer's equipment into this room.

Cana kept a hold of Laxus as the nurses moved his bed in around them, piled high into a nest with the bedding. She waited until they were in position before she spoke to the man in her arms.

"You ready to get up into bed, honey?"

Laxus nodded, leaning heavily on the card mage as they both got up and she led him over to the bed. It had been crammed into the corner in the only available space not taken up by the other patients in the room. She laid him down on top of the blankets, sitting on one side of the bed while the nurses reattached all of the wires and started to inspect the damage he had done to his chest. One of his broken ribs had jarred through the skin when he had fallen to the floor, and Cana held his hand as it was put back into place and re-bandaged. His crying had subsided, but Cana kept rubbing circles on the back of his hand all the same. He was staring at the Raijinshuu in a line, still refusing to wear any glasses although Cana supposed it would be ok until it was time to change their bandages.

"I couldn't help them, Cana."

His voice was choked and she had to strain her ears to hear him properly.

"Those guys would follow me to the gates of hell and beyond, and I couldn't save them. They're all hurting, because of me."

Cana didn't know what to say. She brought her hand up to run through his hair slowly, and he subconsciously moved his head back into her fingers.

"I… I don't know why. Before… before I was banished I knew. I thought I was God's gift to Earthland, of course, they would worship me! I was the Thunder God! But now… now I am nothing. Why do they follow someone so fucking worthless?"

He descended into tears again, and Cana sighed. No one knew why the Raijinshuu followed Laxus apart from them. She couldn't answer that, but at least she could try.

"They must have their reasons. I don't know exactly why those three are almost immune to the guild's gossip mill so you probably know more about their past than anyone. But they're all incredibly strong mages. Freed's a leader in his own right, Evergreen is the type of woman who bows to no one and Bickslow is… well, Bickslow. But they remain loyal to you, and they remained loyal to you throughout your banishment. They're not going to blame you for this. No one is."

Laxus sobbed but didn't speak again. It was a few minutes later that his breathing regulated, and Cana knew he had gone to sleep. She watched him for a second before realising just how tired she was, and standing up off the bed she started to head back to Bacchus. She could think of nothing better than sitting on his lap and drifting off into sleep.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Sorry this is so short, but it's a day early right?
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their support, it makes me a happy bunny :)


	55. Chapter 55

Makarov had barely entered the magic council before he got pulled into one of the side rooms by one of the council members. He was shown to a plain chair behind a large desk, the council member occupying the opposite chair. He had been in here so many times he knew the large, ornate chair the other man sat on was supposed to intimidate him, but Makarov simply snorted, addressing the man in front of him.

"Unless you've brought me in here to talk about Lin Chasso you had better make this quick. I have a court hearing to attend to."

The other man sighed. He hated being the one who always had to deal with the Fairy Tail Master and his blatant disregard for the Council's rulings. Makarov watched as he picked up a large file from in front of him, allowing it to magically fall open to the correct page.

"Master Dreyar. It has come to our attention that you may have a Sieth mage in your guild."

Makarov sighed internally. He knew it would come to this, no matter how well Cana had hidden Bickslow's tattoo down in Lin's dungeon as soon as the Sieth mage had gotten into the hospital it would have been discovered. Nurses talked like nurses do, and it wouldn't have taken long before the rumour got back to the Magic Council. At this point they were just lucky that the council had, for whatever reason, decided to hold back on just hauling Bickslow into jail despite his medical issues. He put on the most bored tone he could muster, twiddling his thumbs in his lap as he leant against the back of the chair.

"Really, and where did you get that information from."

The other man growled under his breath. Makarov was used to skirting this fine line with the council. He had to be annoying enough to get them to the stage where they no longer wanted to talk to him, but not to the point where they would take him into more formal questioning.

"One of our officers has reported that one of the injured mages has a Sieth tattoo on his forehead. I trust I do not need to remind you how serious this matter is. If you did not hold such a high position in the council we would have already bought him in."

Makarov held his breath. There it was. He hated all of the paperwork, pomp and circumstance which came with being one of the Ten Wizard Saints, but he had to admit it offered him certain luxuries. This being one of them. He knew the story off by heart, he had been waiting for the day he had to tell it.

"Ah. Bickslow. I always knew that boy would get into trouble…"

"Get into trouble! Master Dreyar this is…"

Makarov held up his hand. He hated being interrupted. Years ago this never would have happened in the Council, but it appeared their standards were slipping somewhat.

"If you let me finish, I would tell you why you don't need to worry. Bickslow has always had… a flair for the dramatic. You've seen the boy, he tries to be all creepy and mysterious. He got drunk one day and decided a Sieth tattoo would add to his, what did he call it? Oh yes. His 'look'. He paid for a tattoo artist to give him the tattoo so he could freak people out more. So yes, it is a Sieth tattoo, but it is not a mark of Sieth magic."

The workings of a good lie were to include elements of truth into it. He always imagined it was something that Bickslow would do if he didn't already have the tattoo indelibly marked on his skin, and the council was well aware of his personality from all the times he had been interviewed with Laxus. The Council Member looked at him, sighing slightly. He was about to open his mouth when Makarov delivered the final blow.

"Really, now. You have been keeping such close tabs on Fairy Tail for so long, you really think we could have hidden a Sieth mage from you all this time? Your Rune Knights must be more incompetent than I ever realised."

He watched the rage flash across the other man's face before it relaxed again. If there was one thing that always worked with the Council, it was insulting their intelligence. The man sighed, leaning forward and scribbling on the parchment in front of him with a light pen. Makarov watched for a few seconds, before jumping off the chair and heading to the door.

"Now, if you excuse me, I have a court hearing to attend. I will be happy to answer any further questions as soon as it is finished."

* * *

Lin sat in the chair, taking in his surroundings slowly and methodically the way he always did. The chair that he sat on was hard, a simple wooden affair with a straight back and no cushion to speak of. His fists lay relaxed on his lap, magic blocking cuffs weighing down his wrists to an extent he had to make a conscious effort to not appear burdened by them. His ridiculously expensive suit trousers had been replaced with cheap sweat pants which scratched his skin, and his shoes had been removed entirely. He had been stripped of his shirt before he had woken up, and he regarded the tattoos which mocked him as a testimony of his past failed experiments, forcing him to swallow down his disgust. They had spent hours copying down all of the sentences word for word and shipping them off for them to be translated. He wished them the best of luck, he only knew of one person who would have a chance of translating them, and on the minuscule chance she wasn't dead she would be in a coma for a very long time. He smirked internally as he remembered her broken body, making sure no emotion showed on the outside of his face. He had to play this perfectly.

He was in a small metre by metre square Rune Trap, and Lin cast his eyes across the room to see who was casting the spell. He decided on a young man sat in the back of the court room, watching the proceedings as if to commit them to memory. Even if the man hadn't taken part in the Grand Magic Games, Lin would have recognised him from his extensive research. Rufus Lore. Lin had oh so wanted to gain his magic, and was hoping to work his way through Sabertooth to get it. He remembered the disappointment he had felt when he found only the two Dragon Slayers of the guild and grimaced internally. He made eye contact with the blonde man, but his face remained passive. He just knew that the runes would inform everyone in the room as soon as he told any lie. He would have to be careful about how he worded his answers… but he knew that was something he wouldn't struggle with at all.

The rest of the room was filled with all of the members of the Magic Council. Wow, he must have really raised eyebrows to warrant being questioned by all of them at the same time. He recognised the Guild Master of Fairy Tail entering the room, making his way through the gallery to sit down at the front. Their eyes met and Lin swore he could see pure unadulterated hatred behind them. Of course the man would hold a grudge, Lin had taken down his grandson after all. At the thought of the lightning mage the electrical burns across his chest tingled, but he ignored it. It was just another pattern of failure etched on top of the first ones. His thoughts were brought back to the room when the head of the Magic Council addressed him.

"Lin Chasso. Are you ready to begin?"

* * *

"Do you understand why you're here today?"

Lin resisted the urge to smirk. He didn't need his telepathic magic to know the Council were struggling just where to start with this trial. He had taken pride in his ability to avoid any questions asked of him and to avoid giving out any information he did not want to, and he was grateful for all of the practice he had now he was sat without his powers to help him out. He maintained a straight face, staring into the eyes of the head of the council as he answered.

"Yes."

A few people in the room sighed, either from the absurdity of the question or Lin's nonspecific answer he would have to regain his powers to know. The head of the council stumbled over his words, trying to regain the last of his dignity as he did.

"I… I am just finding it difficult to understand why such an upstanding member of the community would risk everything to do something like this."

Something in Lin's mind snapped, and memories flooded to the front of his head and filled his consciousness.

* * *

Lin was running down the corridor of their mansion, heading to his father's study. The floors were a shiny marble, and he had learned ever since he started to walk he was best to run barefoot to stop from slipping on the polished surface. The white pillars either side of the long room towered above him and made him feel small, even though his mother and father told him he was tall for a ten-year-old. He turned a corner, seeing the large door to his father's office in front of him and feeling the raising excitement at the spoils that lay within. His father always kept sweets in there for him and his brothers, sneaking them under the desk to the disapproval of his mother. He was a few steps away from the towering oak entryway when his elder brother appeared in front of him. Hiroki had always been teleporting more than he had walked anywhere, and the speed Lin was running he was unable to stop. As soon as he slammed into the eleven-year-old he felt the familiar nauseous feeling of teleportation that came with his brother tearing him through space before he reappeared in his family's dark, damp basement. He fell to the floor, throwing up from the way his stomach churned. He _knew_ that Hiroki was capable of teleportation without making his passenger throw up, but he never bothered to afford Lin that luxury.

His younger brother was stood at his side in seconds, the nine-year-old grabbing hold of Lin's face and pressing his forehead to his. Lin tried to struggle, he knew what Arata's speciality was, and therefore he knew what was coming.

It was the same nightmare he had relived over and over again. The knowledge it wasn't real never helped him, he still felt the bile in his throat as his heart worked overdrive and adrenaline surged through his system. He felt the bindings on his wrists holding him above a pit full of flames and spikes as his brothers smirked at him from behind their father's desk. Hiroki's voice filled his ears, filled with a strange mix of amusement and boredom at the repetitive vision.

"You know the drill, Lin. The bonds will release in 5 seconds, dropping you into the pit of death, unless you can either teleport out or get into our minds to convince us to let you go free. Begin."

Numbers flashed in front of his eyes, counting down to certain death. But it was when the number hit one and froze that the vomit started to fill his mouth involuntarily, knowing without thinking fully what was coming next.

"Lin Chasso."

He looked up to see his father sat on his desk, both of his magical sons flanking him with identical smirks. His face was a picture of disappointment and anger.

"You can't even summon enough magic to save yourself? Pathetic. It pains me to call you my son."

He awoke in the grasp of someone much bigger than him, and the hold and scent were instantly familiar. He opened his eyes to see his father smiling down at him, and the vomit from Lin's own mouth staining down his father's expensive shirt. His father didn't seem to mind, as he carried Lin away to his room.

"Don't worry, they'll be punished. Again. We'll find something that will get them to stop soon enough. This has gone past boyish pranks."

Lin felt tears of shame and despair starting to prickle at the back of his eyes, and knew he wouldn't make it to his bed before it overtook him entirely. His entire body was wracked with sobs as his father placed him down on the bathroom floor, starting to draw a bath as Lin stripped off all of his dirty clothes. A hand waved over a lacrima, activating the bubbles in the bathtub. Lin stepped in, sitting down as his father grabbed the soap and started to wash over his chest. Lin cried for a while, until his sobs quietened and his father started to rub soap through his hair.

"Why, Father? Why am I still so useless?"

His father clucked softly, picking up the showerhead as he started to wash the soap out of his son's hair.

"I'm looking into it. My research hasn't come across it yet, but it's coming soon I can feel it."

He stroked his son's hair, not caring about the water that soaked into his sleeves. Dropping his voice to a whisper, despite knowing that in this house more than any other there were no secrets, he spoke softly.

"And don't tell your brothers, but I will find a way to make you more powerful than them. I promise."

Lin smiled for the first time since his brothers had found him. His father was on the case, he didn't have to worry much longer.

* * *

The next thing that Lin remembered was sitting in his father's office, a few months after his magic had finally come in. Completely naturally, he needed to add. In the four years since his father had made his promise, his research had got him nowhere. Sure, his father now understood more about the genetics of research but hadn't been able to get him the power he had been promised.

His two brother's had been sent to work in a wizard's guild years before, a way to hone their powers and use them for good his parents had said. And now as he sat opposite this father across the large mahogany desk, asking _once again_ for that power increase had been promised he expected him to say the same thing to him.

The years had not been kind to his father. His hair was now more grey then black, and wrinkles had ingrained themselves into his skin all over his face. His mother had stayed just as youthful as she always had been, and Lin overheard her teasing his father about his aging all of the time. But if there was one thing that didn't change, it was his Father's happy and carefree personality which he had so loved in his younger years. Which is what made the scowl his father had plastered on his face so much out of place. He couldn't see into the older man's mind, the more powerful telepathy mage having blocked him out as soon as he found out his son had developed the same magic.

"How is your training coming along, Lin?"

The teenager sighed. Always training. It wasn't fair, his brothers got much more powerful magic than he did without any training at all. His father always said it was because he got the gift of both of his parents' magic, but that didn't help. He knew if he was to come up against his brother's again he would still stand no chance at all.

"I don't know, Father. How is your research coming along?"

His tone was pure sarcasm, but his father didn't even react. He was waiting for the request from his father for him to go and join the same guild as his brothers, even though something in the back of his brain told him he wasn't even powerful enough to do that yet.

"I have told you many a time before, Lin, you will get nowhere without training. You seem to believe my research will give you power without any price but trust me, there are costs that come with it as well. Go and train, your power will come through in time."

Lin sighed, standing up from his chair and heading out of the room. His father didn't even bother calling after him this time, his head going straight back into one of his books. As soon as the door was closed Lin grinned, his fingers playing with the edge of the book he had stolen from his father's desk. For a telepathy mage, the man sure was dense.

* * *

The lines on his arms and chest burned as they glowed, even more than they hurt when he was embedding them into his skin with the tattooing lacrima he had purchased from the shifty backwater market stall on the mainland. His two brothers sat in front of him, bloody and bruised from where they had tried to struggle out of their bindings. Getting into their room in order to put the magic blocking cuffs on them in their sleep was easy, and then it was a matter of getting them into chairs so they couldn't move. He was physically stronger than the both of them, an unfortunate side effect of them always relying on their goddamn magic. By the age of fifteen he had spent a lot of time in his father's home gym, using the brand new equipment that no one had ever bothered with before. They had struggled as soon as they woke up, but it was useless. They didn't hold a candle to Lin.

"Lin you fucking idiot! This isn't going to work! This…"

Arata's sentence was cut off with the shout of pain that escaped from his lips. His younger brother had tried to take Lin down through their minds, but now Lin's power had come in the younger sibling's power was easy to counteract. Now he was screaming, the sounds so loud they hurt his ears. His older brother had already fallen silent, and Lin could see blood starting to leak out of his ears. Lin hadn't expected this to hurt them this badly, but he couldn't stop now. He completed the last of the carefully practiced ritual, a ritual that would transfer his brothers' power to himself, before black spots filled his eyes and he fell to the floor. He grinned as he slumped to the side, head bouncing off the carpet. This was it. When he woke up, he would have the power he had envied for so long.

* * *

Lin toyed with the inside of his lip as he sat in the living room next to his mother as they waited for his father to get down from his study. Two Rune Knights sat opposite them, and he spent his entire time monitoring their minds before they realised he was a telepath and took that away from him. He had picked his outfit carefully, it would do him no favours for his mother to discover his new body art just yet. He had toyed with one of his black shirts, before realising it wouldn't be the best idea. It might raise suspicions.

He remained silent as his father entered the room, immediately reading the minds of the Rune Knights and falling to his knees. He watched his mother's face turn from confusion to despair as she was told her two sons had been found dead in their apartment. Lin remembered the failed culmination of all of his research the night before and started to cry. He was so thankful he did, as his Mother wrapped her arm around his back and told him it would all be okay. She thought she was crying at what she assumed was news.

"Don't worry, young man. We'll find the people that killed your brothers."

Lin smiled, the Rune Knight who had spoken assuming it was because he had assuaged the young boy's fears but Lin knew it was for a different reason. It's because he knew his brothers' murderer was right in the room, and they would never know.

* * *

It was his eighteenth birthday when Lin next killed. Well, that was unless you counted his mother's suicide on the year's anniversary of his brother's death. He supposed that could have kind of been his fault. But he had to be clever about this. He had been reading a lot of his father's research, but the man was still trying to keep it away from him. He had never been good with languages, and his father knew that. The bastard had written all of his notes in a variety of different languages so it was impossible for him to make head or tail of it. He had the basic knowledge he just needed a few key pieces…

He had been waiting for years, he needed to be old enough to inherit his father's possessions without having anyone take care of it, and probably ruin it beforehand. He walked down the long corridor to his father's office, tightening his shirt cuffs as he did. Everything was ready for what he was about to do. He didn't even bother knocking, there was no need for pleasantries now. His father was sat at his desk, looking at the door before it had even opened. Of course he knew what was about to happen.

"Hello, Lin."

Lin snarled at the man, his attitude had never changed, never faltered over the years. He had gone through the death of two of his sons and his wife and he could still sit here and smile at his remaining family, despite knowing that family was about to kill him. The man disgusted him.

"I'm going to give you one last…"

"Lin. Sit down."

Lin refused. He wasn't going to listen to his father try and talk him out of it. He didn't _want_ to kill him, necessarily. But he knew his father wasn't going to give him what he needed. His father kept staring at him, face still neutral and voice still quiet.

"You know I can't give you the research Lin. Just like I know there is nothing I can say to talk you out of this. I could tell you that you're a powerful mage now, and I am proud of how far you've come. I could remind you that I've kept the truth behind your brothers' deaths a secret all these years. No matter what I say you're still going to plunge that knife into my back. But I need to try because that's what father's do. Even though I know I'm going to fail."

Lin growled, moving towards his father and not even hesitating before he plunged the knife into his ribs. The older man coughed at the pain, his face momentarily cracking before the mask of indifference returned. Lin whispered into his ear, his voice low and growling.

"You've already failed me. You failed me when you broke your promise to make me powerful. And now you don't even fight for your life. Pathetic."

He pulled the knife out of his father's chest and watched as blood started to leak from his mouth. He smiled again, always fucking smiling, and closed his eyes.

"What's the point? I had a good run. I have no family left. It was my time."

* * *

Lin was torn out of his reminiscing by the courtroom door opening and closing and looked up to see a small black cat entering the room, flying down to sit next to the Fairy Tail Guild Master. He worked hard not to shake his head to get his thoughts back in order, before looking up at the panel of inquisitors and reeling off his well-prepared answer.

"It was all to help you out. After my father died I read through his notes and discovered his research had uncovered a weakness that the council just wasn't prepared for. I couldn't risk anyone else discovering this weakness so I had to bring it to your attention as soon as possible. I know what I did was wrong, and I fully expect to go to jail for an awfully long time, but it was worth it to warn you of this danger."

The runes didn't even flash, and Lin grinned internally. He had skated around the question enough for them not to pick up the lie. The council looked around at each other, nodding at the explanation. It had gone down well. He saw the man in charge of the runes raise his hand, and speak when the council gave him permission.

"If I may, the runes need more direct questions to work. It may be better to rephrase them."

The council nodded, taking the advice on board and moving onto the next question.

"That doesn't explain the horrific injuries the mages suffered while at your hands."

All three members of the audience grimaced when the council didn't bother to repeat the question they had asked, and Lin breathed a sigh of relief. By the time they came along to asking him more specific questions he would have more time to work on his own mental state, allowing him to answer them easier. For now, he just needed to hold them off until then. At least the answer to this question didn't contain any non-truths.

"A grievous mistake that I never anticipated. Unfortunately, the act of taking different magics into my body affected my brain in ways my father's research could not predict. My mind shattered, taking away all of my sanity and leaving me with nothing but the most base of instincts."

Once again the runes remained still, and Lin started to relax. This was a lot easier than he thought it would be. The council members made notes, maybe now he had even given himself cause for an insanity plea, before they asked the next question.

"Does anyone else know about this research?"

The urge to stare into the eyes of the Fairy Tail members when he answered was almost too great to resist, but Lin had always been better at self-control than most people.

"Only the Fairy Tail mage who worked with me, Levy McGarden. I really could not have done any of this without her."

The panel of Council Members all collectively turned to look at the Fairy Tail mages, who were quietly seething in the gallery. The head of the council turned to the guild master, and Lin realised just how much this could help him out. Maybe he had found a way to delay his trial…

"Is this true Master Dreyar?"

The small man stood, shouting at the council as his temper finally snapped.

"Ms McGarden was given a job through the normal means and completed that job to the satisfaction of the client! You know what kind of condition she is in; how could you think she helped him! What this man is insinuating… "

"That's enough! At this moment in time, we don't know for sure what caused Ms McGarden's injuries and she was found in the arms of a man well known for extreme violence."

"Are you suggesting that Gajeel…"

This time it was the small black cat that spoke, standing up on his chair as he did. The head of the council spoke again, signalling to the guards at the door as he did.

"For the time being I think we need to get some solid evidence about what happened down in that basement. The trial is suspended until we can get that evidence. If you could take this man down to the cells, I need to talk to the hospital."

With that, the runes around Lin fell, and he felt the strong hands of the guards start to guide him down the stairs. He risked one last look at the members of the guild he had attacked and smiled before he was whisked out of the room to be teleported back to the cells.

* * *

Gray woke up feeling uncharacteristically warm, and took time to take in his surroundings. He was in a room full of beds, and could make out the rough shape of his guildmates around him. Juvia lay to his left, and he thanked any deity he could think of that his nightmare had been just that, a nightmare. He had worked it out on the seventh or eighth rotation of the same horrific sequence of events, but still couldn't stop the horror of watching it over and over again, or even change his actions to alter the timeline of the illusion. He allowed his head to fall back down onto the pillow, breathing a sigh of relief as he did. He allowed himself to stay there for a while, feeling his magic energy increase slowly until he felt like getting up. Sitting up in the bed he grabbed what looked like a button to call the nurses, and pressed it.

The nurse was young, not much older than him, and she smiled when she realised he was awake. He asked her how his fellow guild members were, and she replied in great detail. Finally, he asked her about the girl right next to him.

"The Magic Deficiency Disease has affected her more than the others due to the nature of her Water Body, but she's recovering better than anyone could have expected. Now, feel free to wander around if you want, a lot of the others have, and we will keep tabs on you until one of the doctors is happy you can be released."

All of the sensors were removed, and Gray was left alone to change out of the hospital pyjama's he had been dressed in and into a set of spare clothes he found lying next to the bed. Heading out of the room he went to find the other members of his guild, and maybe find some answers on just what had gone wrong.

* * *

Juvia felt the worst she had felt in a very long time. It seemed that she was taking up all of her energy just staying in her physical, human form and she groaned out loud as she opened her eyes. She could remember being in the guildhall, but then passing out as she was teleported away and then nothing since then. She looked around the room, taking in the two takeover siblings next to her and Erza and Jellal at the other end of the ward. Sitting up, she looked around desperately for the shock of black hair that had become so familiar to her. Surely they wouldn't put him somewhere else? But what if they hadn't found him? What if he was still out there?

She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate, and started to try and rip the wires off her arms. Black spots started to form in her vision as she began to lose consciousness again, but she had to stay up. She had to find Gray. Just as she began to swing her legs to the side something appeared behind her, and a familiar voice spoke out from behind her.

"Juvia! What are you doing?"

She allowed herself to fall back into Gray's arms, revelling in the cool touch of his skin. He looked at her, his eyes filled with concern and she smiled.

"Looking… for you…"

He lay her back down in her bed, trying to get up before she pulled him down next to her.

"Rest, Juvia. You need to regain your strength. I'll stay here now, I promise."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Sorry this is a day late, but it really got away from me. It's also hella long so, forgive me?
> 
> It's been one hell of a year this year, and I would like to take this moment to thank all of you for supporting me with my ramblings. Hope you all have an amazing 2017!


	56. Chapter 56

Elfman shot up in bed, the last thing he remembered being the bright green of Bickslow’s tired, red rimmed eyes boring into his, the screaming of his sisters as his soul was ripped out of his body and the complete and utter pain that accompanied it. His eyes blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the brightness of the hospital lights before he went any further. He pulled wires off his skin, pressing his blanket to the back of his hands to staunch the bleeding from where the IV’s came out before smashing the machine next to him causing the alarm to whine and then finally stop.

He struggled to his feet, taking the few steps he needed to go to his older sister. She was tucked up into a bed, looking almost peaceful in her sleep. He checked the notes on the side of her bed, noting down that she was suffering from magic deficiency disease, but healing well and looking to wake up soon. He scanned the other beds in the room. Gray and Juvia were lay on one together, and Jellal and Erza were in separate beds opposite them. But that was useless to him.

A nurse entered the room just as he was about to leave, walking up to him and holding onto his arm. He shrugged her off, not even looking at her as he went to leave the room.

“Where’s my sister?”

The nurse started stuttering, not sure what to say to the mountain of a man in front of her.

“Sir, you need to…”

He moved faster than she could have thought possible, grabbing her arms and slamming her back against the wall. A magical aura had erupted around him, and a growl that sounded more animalistic than human entered her ears.

“Where. Is. My. Sister.”

The nurse looked down at the floor, before pointing in the direction of the ICU. The man didn’t speak again, simply stormed out of the room as she breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the room to find the next thing she had to do.

 

Gajeel heard Cobra growl deep in his throat, and looked up at the other man. When the Poison Dragon Slayer saw the questioning look on the other man’s face he spoke, keeping his voice to a whisper so he didn’t disturb any of the girls in their beds.

“One of your guildmembers is heading over, and he doesn’t sound too pleased. Big guy. What do you want to do about him?”

Gajeel sighed. It could be no one but Elfman, especially as his little sister was lay unconscious in a bed at the other side of the room, being completely ignored other than the occasional beeping of the machine next to her. And if it was Elfman…

“We need to get him out of the room. Quickly, and without too much damage.”

Gajeel stood, preparing to stop Elfman if he needed to. But he was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. The man was entitled to see his sister after all. All they had to do would be to protect the other two girls in the room with him. He felt Cobra by his side as he went to the door, planning on catching the man before he even entered the room. Cobra’s voice rumbled from next to him, still quiet and solemn.

“We could just…”

“No.” Gajeel growled, knowing exactly where Cobra was going with his question. “We are not killing Elfman. We let him see his sister, and then we get him out.”

Elfman skidded to a halt in front of the two men who were guarding the door. They both stood with their arms crossed, mirroring each other almost perfectly and Elfman drew himself to his full height. He wasn’t quite to the point of transforming uncontrollably, but it was close. The last thing he needed was someone stopping him now.

“Let me see her. I know she’s in here, let me in.”

Cobra had already shifted into his dragon form, obviously not as used to holding it back as Gajeel was. The Iron Dragon Slayer looked between the two and reached his hand out to Elfman’s arm. He wasn’t used to consoling people, but he had at least seen it before and they tended to do it like this.

“You can see her, Elfman. But only if you calm down. If you go in like this you’re only going to cause more issues.”

Elfman growled but calmed slightly. The other man was right. Losing control had already hurt Lisanna before, and he didn’t want to risk it again. He took a few deep breaths, hoping Gajeel would see and let him through. He must have done because he turned to the side, letting Elfman through. He went to step into the room, only to have a hand press into his chest, holding him back. He looked up at the other Dragon Slayer. His one eye was narrowed at him, and he snarled.

“If you go anywhere near Kinana I will fucking destroy you.”

Elfman nodded, not denying that threat. He didn’t want anything to do with Kinana or Levy. He just wanted to see his sister. As soon as Cobra stepped to the side he ran into the room, heading for the white haired girl at the end.

Her face was covered almost entirely by an oxygen mask and he couldn’t even count the number of wires coming to and from her body. The top of her body was almost completely wrapped in bandages, what he could see of it anyway. He went to touch her hand, but Gajeel coughed.

“Don’t touch her. She’s got burns that will hurt if there’s any pressure put on them. “

Elfman nodded at the Dragon Slayer, thankful that he had told him before he had done something that would have hurt his sister. He collapsed to his knees, all anger dissipating and sadness taking over. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he buried his face into the blankets, far enough away from the girl that he didn’t have to worry about hurting her. He just hoped that she could feel his presence and it would calm her somewhat.

 

Jellal stirred in the bed, before sitting up in terror. He had to get out of the hospital before anyone spotted him and turned him into the Rune Knights. There were no wires surrounding him and he was fully dressed, and he looked around the room in confusion. Everyone else there had wires all over their bodies running to machines and were in hospital issue clothes so someone must have…

“You awake?”

The voice came from a chair to his right and he turned his head to look at who it had come from. Erza was sat in her Heart Kreuz pyjamas, one hand resting on top of his on the bed. He smiled, happy to see her relatively unharmed, before leaning forward to kiss her. It was short and chaste, but it told him that everything was alright. He swung his legs out of the bed and went to stand to his feet, before turning around to face her again. He needed to get back to his guild, but Erza might…

“Go.”

Her voice was quiet, but she smiled up at him.

“You need to get back to Crime Sorciere, plus I know you’re worried about them finding you here.”

She looked down at her hands, refusing to make eye contact with him.

“I’m sorry… for dragging you into this mess. We’re lucky they haven’t found you already.”

Jellal leant down, only now noticing the bandages under her clothes. He grabbed her cheek with his right hand and pulled her up to him for another kiss. What he wouldn’t give to stay here with her, but he couldn’t risk it.

“I don’t blame you for anything. I’ll go and check in with the guild and I’ll come find you once you’re out of the hospital. Stay safe.”

Erza smiled, grabbing hold of his hair to bring him back down for another kiss. She wanted nothing more than for him to stay either, but she knew it was too dangerous for the both of them. Letting him go, she called out to him as he turned to walk out of the room.

“Erik is in the ICU if you wanted to see him. Look after yourself.”

He waved one arm as he left, and Erza settled back down into her bed, hissing at the pain in her pelvis as she adjusted. She had tried to hide the pain she was experiencing from Jellal, and she hoped she had succeeded.

 

Cobra rose his head up from the bed when he heard Jellal coming towards him, and turned his head to the door as he entered. Gajeel growled as he walked past, but didn’t make a move to attack the blue haired man.  He hovered at the end of Kinana’s bed, looking over both the inhabitant and the man who was refusing to leave her side.

“I’m going back to the guild, do you want to come with me?”

The response was nothing more than a growl, but Jellal expected nothing less. One of his rules was that each and every one of his guild made their own decisions on what they wanted to do, as long as they never sold out their fellow guild members if they were caught. Although it would be a huge loss to the guild if their dragon slayer was taken back to prison, if it’s what he wanted to do it was what he wanted to do.

“Okay, keep us updated on how she’s getting on. Take all the time that you need.”

With that, he left the room, and Cobra turned back to the girl on the bed in front of him. She hadn’t changed since he had got there, and it was starting to bother him. Surely she should be showing some improvements. It was while he was debating it that he heard two mages running through the corridor towards them, smaller this time, and two of them. He could tell that neither of them posed a threat to Kinana, so he allowed them to enter the room.

 

Wendy immediately ran over to Levy as Chelia looked between the two remaining girls and chose to see to the purple haired girl in the middle. She looked like she had the most physical injuries anyway, and that was the only thing she was able to do. The man at the bed growled at her, but she put on her best determined face despite the fear it elicited inside of her.

“I’m a healer. I’m here to help her.”

The man growled again, but at least stepped away from the bed to allow her easier access. As the magic began to flow down her arms and into the girl on the bed, Chelia closed her eyes to allow herself higher concentration on reaching the most damaged areas. It was then when she heard the man speak, but refused to look at him.

“Where the fuck have you been. We could have done with your help earlier.”

Chelia snapped her eyes open, meeting his one good eye in a cold stare. She was used to dealing with patients like this, and although she hated doing it she knew the best way to calm them down.

“I was on a job. I only just got word of what was happening here. Now, do you want me to heal her or not?”

It was a moot question. Chelia would never have refused someone treatment just because of what their visitors were doing, but it worked anyway. The man shut up, sitting down heavily on the chair and refusing to look at Chelia, instead staring down at the woman on the bed. It was a few minutes later when he spoke again.

“I can provide you with some of the poison that made those burns if it would help you?”

Chelia smiled but shook her head. If the burns would have been fresher, it may have been useful but at this point, the woman had done a remarkable job of flushing it out of her system. Much better than the other two patients, if the nurses were correct. Still, she settled down for the long haul. This was going to take a while.

 

Gajeel watched Wendy working her magic on Levy, trying not to hear the cracks coming from her body as her bones reset. It must have been half an hour before Wendy started to stumble, rocking back on her feet as she did. Gajeel shot an arm out to catch her, grabbing her around the waist and stabilising her better.

“Take a break, Wendy. There’s no use you passing out as well.”

The dragon inside of him roared at the suggestion. They needed to get Levy better, no matter the cost! But Gajeel managed to stare it down, reasoning with it as he did.

_“This is a young dragon. It is our duty to protect her. She can’t heal Levy at all if she’s out on the ground.”_

Wendy teetered on her feet again, and Gajeel grabbed her, pulling her up onto his lap. He didn’t know why he was so protective over her, but he was. She sighed, closing her eyes as she started to eat as much air as she could to regain her magic.

“I think it’s going to take me around eight or nine of these sessions to wake her up. Her hand is another matter, it’s delicate work, it could take…”

Gajeel shushed her as he noticed her start to panic. That wouldn’t help anyone, especially as it could stop her magic replenishing.

“Don’t worry about it. Anything you can do for her is great.”

 

They both looked up as they smelled someone familiar enter the room. The nurse had bright pink hair in a short pixie cut and was wearing the normal uniform they had seen her in so many times before. Gajeel and Wendy looked at each other, before looking at the nurse as Wendy spoke.

“Why are you dressed as a nurse?”

Before their very eyes the nurse changed, morphing into a face they knew well. Mirajane looked sheepishly around the room before running over to her sister, shouting her reply as she did.

“I didn’t think they’d let me into the ICU so easily, but obviously that isn’t an issue.”

Wendy giggled despite the situation they were in. She couldn’t imagine anyone being able to hold Mirajane back from her sister.

 

Mira fell to her knees on the other side of the bed to Elfman, going to push back Lisanna’s hair before Elfman stopped her.

“The burns on her skin are touch sensitive. It’s best not to…”

Elfman’s sentence trailed off as he looked up at his older sister, eyes red-rimmed in an obvious sign he had been crying.

“How’s she doing? Has she woken…”

Elfman shook his head, knowing where his sister was going. He could see her struggling to hold back her own tears, trying to be strong for the both of them. It disgusted him how fucking weak he was sometimes. He tried to get her attention away from the girl who lay between the two of them.

“How about the others? Is Evergreen okay?”

Mira sniffed slightly, reaching across her sister to take his hand.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you go to her? She might need you. I’ll hold the fort down here with Lisanna, and let you know as soon as anything happens.”

Elfman hesitated, but something in the base of his gut told him to go. Tears were already welling up in Mirajane’s eyes, and it was obvious she wanted some privacy. She just didn’t want to break his heart by asking him straight out. He stood up from the bed, taking one last look at Lisanna before he left the room.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - this one gets a little smutty again between the second and third lines. You have been warned.

 

* * *

 

"What do mean she's never going to see again? What did he do to her!?"

Freed awoke to two men arguing, which was not abnormal in itself. But there was something wrong about this. He tried to open his eyes, only to find they were firmly shut. Again, he was used to waking up blindfolded for a variety of reasons but there was still something not quite right… He had a stabbing pain shooting through his head behind his right eye, but that wasn't it. He raised his hand up to his eye, and felt bandages over them. He tried to muster up enough energy to cast a spell to get rid of it, but realised he was almost completely out. What had happened last night…

Something in his head clicked, and he remembered being blind in a cold room, arms raised above his head and suspending him above the floor. He could feel the metal of a knife cutting across his eyelid, and wondered if he would be ever be able to see out of that eye again. He remembered the screams of his teammates entering his ears, followed by sobbing once the screams had all run out. He remembered the cackling of an unknown man before he had passed out, completely exhausted from his lack of magical power.

"I didn't say that you fucking idiot. I said her eyes are badly damaged, and it's gonna be a while before she…"

"Laxus?"

Both men stopped talking, and Freed physically pulled the bandages off his eyes, blinking as the lights burned his retinas after so long in the darkness, to look to where the voices had been coming from. He closed his left eye experimentally, and sighed in relief that he hadn't lost any vision in his right eye. He would need to test his magic later on. Elfman was stood over Evergreen's bed, shouting at Laxus who was wrapped up in an almost mountain of blankets.

"Freed? How are you feeling?"

The rune mage struggled to sit up, clasping hold of his head and trying to clear his thoughts. He groaned as his shoulders popped in their joints without much effort and he had to pause for a second before settling back in his bed. In the time it took him to sit up Laxus had almost run to his bedside. The lightning mage gasped at the horrific bruising that covered the other man's eyes, but was glad to see the cuts didn't appear to be scarring.

"I'm… I'm fine thank you Laxus. How are you? You should be in bed, not over here."

Laxus snorted, leaning forward to take Freed into his arms. It was only one of his bodyguards awake, but it was better than nothing. Freed closed his eyes again, gritting his teeth as he allowed his arms to wrap around Laxus' back. His shoulders protested, shooting pain through both his arms and down his back, but that wasn't what was important right now.

"I'm glad you're safe, Freed. And… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from this."

Freed pulled away from him, glaring into his leader's eyes.

"I do not know what you are talking about. If we are assigning blame, surely it must fall to me. I was supposed to find a way to stop us from getting teleported, and I failed at that. If you think you failed me, then surely I failed the whole guild."

The two men stared at each other in anger, and Elfman looked on in worry. If they were to fight, he would have to get Evergreen out of there both quickly and safely. He debated how easily he could pick up the whole bed, along with all of the equipment, when the two other men started to laugh.

Laxus was looking down at the blankets on Freed's bed, and started to smirk.

"How long has it been, Freed?"

The green haired man sat back in the bed, hissing as his shoulders hit the headboard. Laxus looked up in worry for a moment, before he noticed a smile on the smaller man's face.

"Fifteen years."

Laxus stood up off the bed, obviously having had enough of the affection he was showing. He made his way back over to his own bed, clutching onto his ribs as he fell back down into the nest he had accumulated.

"Fifteen fucking years, and I've never won a debate with you. There's no point in me taking this argument any further, right?"

Freed shook his head, before turning his attention to gaining information. He was, after all, the tactician of the Raijinshuu. He liked knowing as much as he possible can. But to start with, he needed to find out about the people closest to him. He looked at the two men in the room, sighing as he realised how much of an effort it was going to be to get what he needed from them.

* * *

 

Cana woke up when two strong hands made their way up her stomach. After a seconds confusion she realised she was in the nurses office of the hospital, curled up on the bed Bacchus had got in there for her. She was so exhausted it had been surprisingly easy falling asleep, despite him talking on the phone to various different people. Now the man in question was straddling her legs, a grin spread across his face as his hands made their way over her breasts.

"Is everything ok, Bacchus?"

He licked his lips as his hands deviated from their path, digging into her skin and making her moan deep in her throat. She had been exhausted, but now he had suggested it…

"Nothing's wrong, just go back to sleep."

His eyes glinted in excitement as his hands clenched, and her back arched. She moaned again, and Bacchus grunted in a way she had never heard him before.

"How can I go back to sleep when you've turned me on so much?"

Bacchus paused, looking to contemplate something before another grin split his face, revealing his teeth which looked… did they look sharper? His hands smoothed back down her stomach, digging his nails into her skin as they went and made quick work of her capris, pulling them roughly off her legs. She gasped in shock, sure they had been rough before but she wasn't expecting him to do it right now. He didn't even pause before he had pulled his own trousers down and entered her.

She just about managed to suppress her scream at the sudden pleasure that spread through her lower body, and he placed his hands either side of her head, before biting her neck as he started to move. She gasped again, trying to kiss him but he avoided her mouth. She felt his hands make his way across the pillow, before starting to make their way around her neck. Her eyes shot open, looking up at him as he grinned again. He put all of his weight onto his hands, and she coughed as she was starved from oxygen. Sure, they were pretty rough in the bedroom but never this far…

Her own hands moved up to grab his wrists, completely unable to speak now. She tried to pull them away, but felt magic pool in his wrists as they gripped tighter. She tried to struggle, but to no avail as Bacchus started to morph in front of her. Gone was his black hair, tattoos and cocky smile and instead it was replaced but the cold dead eyes she had seen in a picture that Levy had shown her.

Lin.

"Cana Alberona. I finally got to you. No one will suspect you attacking your guildmates, would they? And while they're all in the hospital as well… What would your father think of you?"

She cursed her magic for being item based, and she didn't have anywhere near enough energy left for Fairy Glitter with the lack of oxygen she was experiencing. She gathered her remaining breath as black spots appeared in front of her eyes, and started to scream.

Cana shot up in the bed, still screaming as her dream left her. Bacchus dodged out of the way of her fist as he began to start trying to console her.

"Woah woah woah, Cana it's okay! What's wrong?"

She panted, falling back down onto the bed as he began to stroke her hair back from her face. She had been moaning in her sleep and he had left the phone lacrima off the hook to come and see if he could help, before she woke up and just attacked him. Her hair was sweaty, and she sobbed slightly as she began to fall back to sleep.

"Nightmare… I'm… Sorry…"

Bacchus sighed, lying down next to her and grabbing her up into a hug as she sobbed into her chest. The council could wait for a little while longer.

* * *

 

All three Dragon Slayers looked towards the door of the intensive care unit again, detecting someone coming towards them. Whoever it was wasn't doing so well, hitting into the walls as if he couldn't see. Wendy spoke first, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room.

"Is that… Bickslow?"

The man in question appeared around the side of the door, slamming into the frame on the other side. His hair was wild, he was still wearing his hospital pyjamas and bandages had been wrapped tightly his eyes. Obviously he wasn't able to see a thing.

He stopped in the doorway. He could feel the soul he was looking for, but there were so many others in the room it assaulted his senses. It took him a while to take them all in, before he started to stumble forward towards Lisanna. Cobra began to rise to his feet, but Gajeel looked at him.

_He isn't going to go anywhere near her. Look at him. He can barely walk._

The poison dragon slayer growled, but Bickslow barely noticed. He had made his way over to the bed, before collapsing on top of it next to Lisanna. Mira shouted, grabbing a hold of him and trying to pull him away.

"Bickslow! If you touch her she…"

"The burns have healed enough now."

Cobra stared at the man with his one good eye. He didn't know what it was, but he most definitely felt sorry for him. More than he had for her two siblings, anyway. There was no way he cared for the girl on the bed as much as Cobra himself cared for Kinana, but it might have been close. He cursed to himself, all of this time in a semi-legitimate guild had obviously softened him up.

"She was burned a long time before these two were. The poison has gone from her skin and she should be ok to be touched. Knock yourself out."

Mira let go of Bickslow, who clambered into the bed and pulled Lisanna up into his arms. She wasn't sure what to do, he wasn't hurting her, what was the use of stopping him? She took a seat on the other side of Lisanna, and strained her hearing as Bickslow stroked Lisanna's face and whispered into her ear. She didn't want to eavesdrop, per se, she just needed to make sure he wasn't doing anything bad to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you into this mess. I don't know what happened but I thought of you and then you were there. This whole thing... all of this was my fault."

Mira reached her hand out, resting it onto Bickslow's arm. She regretted it as soon as the man jumped, and realised that he was completely unable to see who she was or where the hand had come from.

"It's not your fault, Bickslow. That guy would have gotten us one way or another, you can't blame yourself."

She watched as tears started to stain his bandages, and his head fell down to hide in Lisanna's shoulders as he started to sob. Mira froze. Although she had comforted most of the members of the guild, she didn't think she had ever seen Bickslow cry before. She placed her hand back on his arm, and rubbed up and down his skin. Tears fell from her own eyes as she stared at her sister, and before long she could hear Bickslow's breathing slow as he fell asleep. He was almost completely wrapped around Lisanna, and a part of her wanted to scream and pull him off, dropping him to the floor and climbing onto the bed in his place. But another part of her kept that down. He had done everything that he could to protect her against Lin, and maybe he deserved this little moment of peace.

* * *

 

Elfman had called the nurses as soon as she began to stir. Laxus argued with him, saying she was probably going to go back to sleep, but Elfman just needed to make sure that Evergreen was okay and who better than the nurses to tell him that. They had already rebandaged Freed's damaged eye, now they were certain his other eye was safe, and had given all of them glasses to counteract any problems her stone eyes may cause. Now Elfman was sat on her bed as she woke up, Laxus sat watching from his own bed as Freed looked from his. Three nurses were stood around in the room, waiting to see what would occur as soon as the woman woke up.

It was quiet groans at first, something Elfman was used to as it was how she woke up every single morning. He was rubbing his thumb up and down her forearm, waiting for the freak out he knew was coming. The groans subsided, and she brought her hand up to her head to try and work out why she couldn't see, before Elfman grabbed it to stop her.

"Woah, don't take the bandages off just yet. We need to see what's happening with your eyes first."

She groaned in pain, trying to sit up. Elfman let her, he needed to pick his battles with Evergreen and this was not one he wanted to choose.

"Elfman?"

He grinned, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers. It was something they did often, in the privacy of her apartment or his room. He found it calmed her down more than anything else, and that's what he was hoping for at that point. Her hand raised to his face, rubbing along his cheek until she paused at the frame of his glasses.

"Are you… Why are you wearing glasses?"

Elfman swallowed. This was going to be the difficult part. He and Laxus had argued who was going to break the news, and it was only when Freed decided that she would probably take it better from Elfman that the Dragon Slayer backed down.

"You've… You've suffered some damage to your eyes. The doctors have said they aren't sure what effect it's going to have to your stone eyes so we've needed to take some precautions."

She paused for a moment, trying to remember everything that had happened to her when it all flowed back to her. She breathed heavily, sitting back against the head of her bed. Her hands went up to her face again, once again trying to pull at her bandaged eyes before Elfman stopped her again. The nurses stepped closer, deciding that this was maybe a good time to take off her bandages. They spoke softly as they got closer to her, not wanting to startle her into doing something with her magic.

"We're going to take your bandages off now, okay Evergreen? Then we can assess the damage that has been done, okay?"

Evergreen nodded, holding still when she felt two hands move around to the back of her head and start to unwind the bandages. Elfman pulled back away from her, but clutched a hold of her hands, holding them tight in her lap in anticipation. He wasn't sure what he was hoping for, but he hoped all the same.

The bandages weren't even fully off before a green light filled the room. The nurses paused, looking at Elfman for confirmation. He nodded for them to continue, having already explained that Evergreen had no control over her stone eyes. As soon as the bandages were off she stared at Elfman with blank eyes, who tried not to freak out at the sheer amount of damage that had been done to them. She took a few breaths, before tears started to fall.

"Elfman… I'm blind."

No one knew what to say. Evergreen never cried, never, and here she was in tears. Suddenly she pitched forward, wailing as she did.

"Elfman… where are you? I can't… Where did you go?"

Elfman caught her in his arms, holding her close to his chest and stroking her hair. Laxus started to get up, but Freed looked at him and shook his head. The last thing she needed was Laxus freaking out.

"I can't… I can't see."

She descended into sobs as she grasped onto Elfman's top. Laxus could hear him whisper to her, telling her that it was all going to be okay, but he couldn't stand it anymore. It hurt him to hear one of his closest friends in such pain. He turned to Freed, waving his hand as he spoke.

"Freed."

The green haired man nodded, pulling the bandage off his right eye and before the nurses could protest he spoke his spell, hoping that it would still work.

"Dark Ècriture: Sleep."

The rune slammed into Evergreen's back, and her sobs suddenly stopped as her breathing fell heavier than it had been before. Elfman sighed, stroking her hair for a moment before he started to lay her down onto the bed as he spoke.

"Thank you, Freed. We'll let her sleep a bit longer and then… I don't know…"

He rested his head in his hands as the nurses started to reapply her bandages. He didn't have an answer as to how best to deal with her issues, and it hurt. Laxus groaned from behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. Now it had calmed down, something finally dawned for the Dragon Slayer.

"Please… someone tell me they know where Bickslow is."

* * *

 

Cobra heard her thoughts pull back to normality before she spoke. He stood up from his chair, knocking the girl who was healing her out of the way as he made his way over to her. He hands fell onto her pillows as he held himself above her, and she barely opened her eyes before he pulled her oxygen mask out of the way and was kissing her.

Kinana squeaked in shock, amazed she was even waking up, let alone the wake up she was getting. She had known that Erik had been captured, Lin had lorded it over her, but she was convinced he would have gone back to his guild as soon as he was healed. He pulled back from her, grinning as he did before sitting back down and allowing a girl who she recognised as the healer from Lamia Scale to start healing her again. She wasn't in as much pain as she thought she would be, and the burns that she was sure she had received were barely there anymore.

"Kinana, there was no way on this planet I was leaving this hospital without you."

She smiled at the man next to her, holding out her hand carefully so she didn't pull any of the wires off her skin before turning to the girl who was pouring healing magic into her.

"Thank you, Chelia. For helping me. I'm sure this idiot hasn't bothered saying it."

The girl smiled down at her, and Kinana giggled. She knew her Dragon Slayer far too well.

"You're welcome. I like helping people out. A few minutes more and you should be okay to leave the hospital. I know of at least one person who'll be glad to see you get out of here."

Kinana looked over at Cobra, who was pointedly looking away. She tried to glower at him, but failed pretty quickly and ended up just giggling again. He looked at her, and a smile split across his face. Sure, he was a rude, insufferable arsehole. But he was hers.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - as always, the biggest of thanks goes out to Gajeelswoman who picks up so many mistakes in these it's untrue. And chips away at my writer's block. And is genuinely awesome. Go and check her out if you haven't already.
> 
> And a huge thank you to everyone who reviews. I know I am super behind on replying to them but I hope to get to it this week *less than three*


	58. Chapter 58

Wendy was back healing Levy when Pantherlily walked in in his battle form. Chelia had swapped over to healing Lisanna after a short break, and Kinana had been discharged and disappeared out of the hospital in the arms of her own Dragon Slayer. Gajeel looked up in anticipation as he heard his cat enter the room, and stood to shake his hand in greeting. As their hands collided, and before Gajeel could pull him into a hug he felt something clasp around his wrist, and his magic drain from him. Pulling away, he looked down to see a magic blocking cuff clasped around his wrist. His senses had dulled at the loss of his Dragon, and from this distance he couldn't distinguish Levy's heartbeat from the others in the room. He felt anger rise up inside him, but it was all him. All of his muscles tensed, and he spat his anger at the cat in front of him. So that was why he was in his battle form.

"What the fuck, Lily?"

The exceed changed to his smaller form in front of him, but hovered in the air in front of his face. He looked glum, but then again everyone he had seen the last couple of days looked glum.

"I… don't have good news." He looked around the room, seeing the other people who were awake and listening and dropped his voice down to a whisper. "I can't have your Dragon losing it in here, and I didn't know if he would appreciate me asking you to put the cuff on with the stress you're going through."

Gajeel sighed, going to sit back down on his chair as Lily flew over, resting on the bottom of Levy's bed. He was right, as he always was. He looked over at Levy, eyes still closed and heartbeat still steady.

"I managed to listen to some of the Council's deliberations. Lin has claimed that he was doing it to help the council. They believed him, and he's only looking at two to three years behind bars."

"WHAT!?"

Both Mira and Gajeel stood at once, the former appearing at Lily's side in seconds. Magic auras appeared around the two of them, before they both almost simultaneously realised where they were. Gajeel was suddenly glad that Lily had brought him the cuffs, there was no way the Dragon would have calmed down after that. Mira made a quick glance around the room, realised none of the occupants of the beds had woken up, before dropping her voice to a whisper.

"That's fucking insane. What about all of the injuries he's inflicted?"

Lily sighed, rubbing his temples with both of his paws at once. He looked around the room, wondering whether he could get the two mages out of there before realising there was no way Gajeel was going to leave that room without Levy.

"He claims that all of the magic shattered his mind, and he didn't originally intend to hurt anyone but went insane and lost all of his morals."

Mira growled, somehow more animalistic than one of Gajeel's as it erupted from her throat. When she spoke it was through gritted teeth, and Lily could see she was struggling to hold it together. Maybe he should have brought two cuffs.

"No. He hurt Bickslow before he had stolen any magic. He fucking tortured him."

Lily sat down, leaning on the bottom of Levy's bed. He was angry himself, but he knew that it wouldn't help anyone if he lost it here. Gajeel was relying on him to provide them with information on the council proceedings, especially with Makarov staying to debate with the Ten Wizard Saints and the Council members, and losing his temper wasn't going to help with that.

"But it's his word against ours. And he was an upstanding member of the community, from a strong upper class family. We can't even use any physical evidence because the magic healing would have destroyed any chances of finding out a timescale of when the injuries were received."

Gajeel was clenching his fists, his eyes closed in rage as he tried to hold back. Lily didn't want to go into much further detail, but Mira kept pushing.

"Well, what the fuck were we supposed to do? If we didn't heal them they would have fucking died. Are they all fucking idiots?"

Lily shrugged, keeping a close eye on Gajeel as he did. The exceed really didn't want to tell him what was coming next, but the slayer needed adequate warning.

"Gajeel… I need to tell you. Lin claimed that Levy was working with him. He says she helped him with everything."

"The FUCK!?"

Gajeel shouted again, and Wendy jumped back from where she had been healing the script mage, before she steeled herself and kept working. Gajeel had stood up, and was glaring down at Lily as if he was the one who had hurt the guild, and wasn't just the bearer of bad news.

"Look what he did to her! How could they say they were working together when she's in this condition?"

Pantherlily swallowed. This was going to be the difficult part.

"Well… she was found in the arms of someone who is not only known for being violent but also took down Lin…"

Gajeel growled, his muscles tensing up. He might not have access to his magic, but he still wanted to punch something. His arm reeled back, heading towards the wall before his fist connected with a clawed hand and was stopped in its tracks. Mira had transformed into her Satan Soul at some point, he hadn't even noticed with his dulled senses, and had caught his hand before it collided with the bricks.

"I can help with that." Her voice had dropped a couple of octaves into one which was synonymous with her Satan Soul. "He submitted an official request to the guild in order to get her to translate his notes for him. That creates a paper trail. We can prove that it came through the guild, and she wasn't just helping him of her own accord. Maybe if they realise he's lying about that they won't take his word on everything else."

Gajeel stared at her while he breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. Mira was right, but that still didn't help. It didn't stop Lin being a bastard, and it didn't stop the fact that Levy still hadn't woken up. He drew himself up to his full height, still bigger than Mira despite her being in her Satan Soul, and was about to speak before he was interrupted.

"Excuse me, just need to collect my idiot…"

The distraction of his anger in addition to his lowered sense of smell meant he hadn't noticed the man until he entered the room. But now he watched as Laxus made his way across the room, heading towards where Lisanna and Bickslow were sharing a bed. Mira let go of Gajeel's hand, and was by his side in seconds.

"Laxus! You should be in bed, you're still…"

"Mira! Thank fuck you're here. Can you push the machine while I take the bed?"

He was starting to pull the bed away from the wall while Chelia just stood to the side and stared at him, unsure what to do. Mira stood for a second, debating with herself as he moved to the head of the bed, going to push it out of the door. There was no stopping him, it seemed. She sighed, stepping in front of the bed to force him to pause.

"We need to put the sides of the bed up, they're gonna fall out otherwise."

Laxus smiled up at her as she grabbed one of the barriers, pulling it and locking it into the place as he grabbed the other. As soon as both Bickslow and Lisanna were secure they both started to wheel them out, and before they left the room Laxus looked over his shoulder and shouted back to Chelia.

"You coming with us or?"

Chelia was brought back to the present, and with a quick look at Wendy she followed them out of the room. No matter where they were, the girl in the bed still needed her help.

Pantherlily watched as the group left the room, before turning back around to Gajeel. At some point during the interactions he had sat back down in his chair next to the bed, and he had buried his head in the blankets. Wendy had been healing Levy the whole time, and as Pantherlily watched he noticed that she was looking extraordinarily pale.

"Wendy… are you okay?"

The little Dragon Slayer sighed, keeping her magic flowing from her hands. Lily jumped behind her, transforming into his battle form as she trembled on her feet. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her hands as her legs gave out and she fell.

"Come on… I need to go and check in with the council, I'll put you back into bed. I can see you've worked wonders on her already. You need a rest."

He looked up to Gajeel, checking he was okay with it before he took her. The last thing he needed was the other Dragon Slayer flipping out now, when they were so close to being free of this. When Gajeel didn't move he scooped Wendy up in his arms and headed off to her bed.

Gajeel slowly started to realise that for the first time he was alone with Levy. There were no other heartbeats in the room, just the slow beeping of the machine in stereo with the thud deep in her chest. Her breathing was still deep, but his lessened hearing struggled to pick up the difference between his breathing and hers. He growled to himself, all him and none of the Dragon. Despite Lily's forward thinking, his lack of the Dragon helping his senses was hindering him right now. Sitting up, he used his other hand to unclasp the cuff around his wrist, and in a moment of anger he flung it at the wall so hard it broke through the plasterboard and landed on the other side. The smell of the dust entered his nose and forced him to cough.

He looked over at Levy, making sure it hadn't affected her and was relieved to see her face still calm, covered almost entirely with the oxygen mask that had been there since her surgery. He sighed, allowing himself to calm down. His Dragon wasn't angry, but Gajeel could feel the fear boiling inside him and the only way the dragon knew how to react to that was by bursting out. He pulled his chair further up the bed, reaching his hand out to push her hair back and onto the pillow. Thanks to Wendy's efforts her burns had receded completely, and he stared at her calm expression as he tried to take in every detail of her face. Wendy had been healing her for the best part of the day, surely she should be waking up by now.

His hand fell to his side, his now heightened scent picking up something he had all but forgotten. His fingers wound their way into his pocket, pulling out a small bronze figure. Her last words shot through his memories like a bullet.

_"A Dragon without wings. Just like you. You're my Drake"_

He was her dragon. And she was his shrimp. Nothing could stop that. He stared at her face, her blue hair framing it perfectly and he realised he would never take her bright hazel eyes for granted again.

"C'mon, Lev… You're my strong little woman. You can pull through this."

His voice was hoarse as he tried to choke back tears. He didn't think he would have been able to stop himself crying even if the room was filled.

"He's saying some awful things about you, Lev. He's saying this was all your fault. This isn't a war I can win with my fists. I can't win this with my magic, this one needs words. And you know more than anyone else I can't use my words."

He chuckled through his tears. This was stupid. She couldn't hear him, but for some reason now he had started speaking he couldn't stop. He buried his head into her stomach, hearing her heartbeat much louder and feeling the rise and fall of her chest.

"Words are your specialty, Levy. I can't do this. Not without you. I need you Levy, so please. Just wake up."

He couldn't hold back the tears then. He had so many questions. Why had she used herself as bait? Why hadn't she told him? And why hasn't she fucking woken up yet?

When the voice came it was so unexpected and quiet he almost missed it. If it had been anyone else it would have gone straight over his head, but it wasn't. It was the voice he had been waiting for since the last time he had heard it.

"Gajeel?"

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - As always, huge thanks go out to Gajeelswoman for betaing this for me. She's the best and you should check her out.
> 
>  
> 
> Talking about checking out Gajeelswoman, I have an announcement (no, we're not getting married).
> 
>  
> 
> This fic is going to go on semi-haitus after the Lin arc. Don't worry, it's not ending, I just want to work on another fic for a while. The other fic is going to have a defined end point, whereas this one really doesn't. I will still be updating, it just probably won't be every week like it currently is. Soul Squared (which is my Bixanna sister fic) will continue on as normal, and hopefully it will catch up with this one. But probably not.


	59. Chapter 59

Levy's head swam, although she did notice a distinct lack of pain. Pretty colours swirled on the ceiling of the room, merging together to make shades she couldn't even name. A very quiet voice at the back of her head told her that she was probably hallucinating from the same drugs that had blocked her from feeling the pain that she clearly remembered was inflicted, but present Levy really didn't care. She watched the lines for a while, hearing words float into her ears from somewhere. Words. She knew words. What were these ones? Definitely Fiorian... she was home then. But not home home. In a hospital in Fiore. Had she even ever left the continent? She couldn't remember. She could see the words swimming in front of her vision, letters forming out of thin air as the voice entered her ears.

 _"I need you Levy, so please. Just wake up_ "

Levy. That was her name, wasn't it? She looked down to where she thought the voice was coming from to see someone resting against her stomach. His skin was pure black but shone brightly at the same time, like oil on water in the sun. Black flames blazed around his head, and she was amazed the fire didn't burn her stomach. His name came to her out of nowhere, and it escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Her own voice sounded much higher than she remembered it being, but as soon as she even thought that the worry was gone. The animal on her stomach moved up to the top of her bed and hovered over her face. Circles of silver emerged from the fluid of his skin, like small islands in a stormy sea. Levy giggled, moving her forehead up to touch against his. He held his head still but slowly moved his hand up to run through her hair. His touch sent electricity through her skin, and she giggled again, struggling to pull air into her lungs with how hard she was laughing. Black spots swam in front over her eyes, but she couldn't stop laughing. Consciousness slipped from her mind again, and the sweet embrace of sleep encompassed her again.

* * *

 

Gajeel clamped onto the side of Levy's head, pulling her head back to try and ease her breathing. He listened intently to her heart beat, trying to hear it through her laughter, and started to panic as it slowed.

"Shrimp? Levy! Why are you laughing!? Levy! Breathe!"

He watched in horror as her eyes slipped closed again, reaching his arm out to try and smack the call button next to her bed. His hand clasped in her hair, thumb running across her temple to try and wake her again. She heard three nurses run in behind him, two heading to the machine while the last pulled him off the bed and down into the chair. Gajeel went back voluntarily, even his Dragon knowing he needed to get out of the way so the nurses could see to her but his left arm struck out, knocking the last nurse to the floor as he snarled.

The smaller man sprawled across the linoleum floor, but Gajeel didn't even bother looking at him. The two female nurses were testing some of Levy's vital signs, and Gajeel wished that he had at least a little knowledge of standard medicine so he knew what it all meant. His knowledge pretty much only extended to patching people up in the field of battle, bandages and make-shift splints and nothing else. Now they were reading out acronyms and numbers he didn't even know where to start.

The male nurse had stood to his feet again, somehow still smiling as he pulled another chair to the bed, knowing that if he sat on the bed it was only going to cause issues. He'd already discovered that when he sat on the bed of the woman with eye damage and had two of the biggest men he had ever seen growl at him. He adapted his voice to one he knew worked with the families of patients and hoped it worked on angry dragons.

"What happened in here?"

Gajeel sighed, rubbing his temples as he tried to control the dragon that was starting to rise inside him. This was not the time. He really didn't want to talk to the man, but it might help Levy. He may be able to give him an answer.

"She woke up, said my name and then just started laughing. She… she laughed so hard she couldn't breathe anymore and passed back out. What's wrong with her?"

The other man shrank in his chair, knowing what was coming. It had been a debate they had been having among the nurses, and it angered him that even though he had been right he had to break the news to this man.

"We think it might be the painkillers. One of the other girls that was on the same drug hallucinated when she woke up a few minutes ago, but the other was fine. We didn't know whether it was a bad reaction the one girl had. We should have warned you."

Gajeel growled, his dragon wanting blood. He couldn't hold himself much longer, and he just hoped that he could hold his anger long enough to get Levy out of the hospital so he could go and beat up some bandits or something.

"You don't fucking say. You knew that Kinana got rid the poison quicker than the other two. It doesn't take a fucking genius to work out she might get rid of hallucinogenic drugs faster as well!"

The nurse was going to open his mouth to tell the man that he had been arguing exactly the same thing with the other nurses, but decided against it. The two female nurses had finished their checks of the mage and moved on to changing over her bandages and cleaning her wounds. Gajeel wrenched his head away, he didn't want to see her wounds but still couldn't stop the stench of her blood filling his nose. It was old blood, sure, and the stench of disinfectant quickly overpowered it, but it still enraged the dragon inside of him.

"What happens to her now? How many times is she going to hallucinate like that?"

The nurse squirmed in his seat. He honestly didn't know. The people that they usually put on this type of medication weren't usually mages so they had never had the issue before. He would need to report the effects that the drugs had had on the mages to the higher ups in the hospital.

"I don't know. The other girl has only woken up once. I will get one of the doctors to come and have a look at her, they may know better than I do."

The Dragon Slayer didn't speak again, just held his head in his hands until the nurses left the room. This was bad enough as it was, without Levy waking up to random hallucinations. Her breathing had returned to the slow, steady pace it had been before, almost musical the way it coincided with her heart beating in her chest. He was back to waiting, and hoping beyond all hope that when she woke up again she was back to her normal, calm, sane self.

* * *

 

Wendy reentered the room not long after, making her way over to the bed and started to resume her healing on Levy. Gajeel had sat back in his chair to watch them, unsure whether or not to tell Wendy what had happened… he didn't even know how long ago it had happened. He couldn't remember the last time that he slept, and time had seemed to meld together at this point. The little dragon slayer went to work on Levy, the smell of her magic filling the room now there weren't as many people to dilute it.

Levy waking up was subtler this time around, but oddly he noticed it a lot clearer. She started moaning softly before her eyes opened and she took in the room in front of her. Gajeel stood up from his chair to get to her side before she started to panic.

"My legs! I can't feel my legs!"

A sob escaped from Gajeel's throat. He had hoped beyond hope that she wasn't going to have another hallucination, but here it was. He didn't know what to do, however, Wendy was one step ahead of him.

"Levy, look. Sit up for me and look."

Gajeel's Dragon rose to the surface when Wendy helped Levy to sit up, but when he noticed that Levy's fear was dropping he allowed it. Wendy lifted her up easily, and Levy's eyes looked around the room.

"It's just a reaction to the pain killers, it's numbed all of your senses so you don't…"

"Gajeel."

Levy's eyes had landed on his, but he could see this time that she was actually there. She scrambled to try and get up, but he stopped her and moved himself closer so she didn't hurt herself any further. A smile broke across her face, barely visible underneath the oxygen mask before it fell again.

"Lin. Is he…"

Gajeel took her hand in his, pulling it close to his chest as he did.

"The rune knight's have got him in custody. It's over, Levy." He paused for a second, not sure what to do. He had been so angry at her before, ready to yell at her for her fucking stupidity, but now she was here and speaking to him the anger was completely gone, and instead his voice came out as a choked sob.

"Why did you do it, Shrimp? Why did you use yourself as fucking bait?"

Levy dropped her eyes down to where her hand was enveloped in his, not wanting to look him in the eyes. She had thought she felt guilty before, but it was nothing compared to how she felt now she could see just how she affected Gajeel. The bags under his eyes were almost black, and there were stains down his cheeks where he had been crying. Her voice was quieter than she thought it would be, but she knew he would be able to hear her clearly.

"Gajeel… If there had been any other way…"

"You wouldn't have done it. I know." Gajeel swallowed heavily. It wasn't just that she had done it it was… "Why didn't you tell me, Lev? Why didn't you let me know where you were going?"

Levy hiccoughed, trying to stop the tears from falling. She didn't have any right to be upset, not after what she had done to Gajeel.

"You never would have let me go. I couldn't tell you, that way I couldn't have found where he..."

Her memories snapped back to the basement, to her guildmembers in the machines stretched out along the room, to the Raijinshuu strung up along the wall, to Lisanna and Kinana broken and bloody on the floor. Panic rose up in her throat, and before she knew it she was vomiting. Wendy must have known it was coming because she had pulled Levy's oxygen mask off her face and held a bowl under her mouth as she vomited. She retched long after she had finished throwing up, nothing left in her stomach to come out anymore. She was sweating heavily, and she hadn't noticed when Gajeel had wrapped his arm around her. She sank into his body, shaking involuntarily as she did and shutting her eyes.

"How… how is everyone else?"

Gajeel couldn't speak, he didn't know what was happening with anyone else. He had been far too focused on Levy, and now he realised that he should have known it would be one of the first things she asked. Once again he was grateful that Wendy was there.

"Everyone except you, Lisanna, Laxus and the Raijinshuu have been discharged. A few other guild members are still around the hospital, but everyone is doing fine."

Levy sighed, settling back on her pillows. She still felt sick, but thought she should be able to sit up if she needed to vomit again. She still felt tired, but didn't want to sleep. She was scared what nightmares would arise if she did.


	60. Chapter 60

Levy needn't have worried about falling asleep. Wendy was working on her hand, and although she couldn't feel any pain she felt her bones melding back together and it was one of the strangest feelings she'd ever experienced. Although they had been set into place underneath the cast they still moved slightly as Wendy's magic worked on her. She winced as she remembered the feeling of the cold steel of Lin's blade going through her hand, and her breathing picked up in pace as she felt panic overcoming her again. She could almost feel the cold bricks of the floor pressed against her back as her hand twitched in muscle memory at the pain. The movement dragged more thoughts into the forefront of her mind, and she remembered the same cold blade slicing through her face. She pulled her good hand up to cover it before Wendy spoke, seemingly knowing exactly what Levy was thinking.

"It's one of the first things I healed. It was sewn up by the nurses immediately anyway because it had gone straight through your cheek, it shouldn't scar."

Despite Wendy's levelled words Levy couldn't force herself to calm. She knew that Gajeel would be able to sense her fear, but even that didn't help. She needed that hand. Not only was it crucial to solid script magic, but she also used it a lot in her translation work. She wasn't ambidextrous like Freed, and she doubted she would be able to learn. Her magic was such a huge part of her, and now she had lost it entirely. She hiccuped as the need to throw up overcame her again, but before she could she felt a wave of serenity wash over her. Wendy had stopped her work on Levy's injured hand and put her palm on Levy's forehead. She had heard Wendy had a calming spell but didn't know just how effective it was. Looking up into her deep brown eyes she remembered the young girl was a Dragon Slayer as well and was probably experiencing Levy's fear along with Gajeel. She smiled, resting her head back down on the pillows as she settled back down to sleep again. She had two dragons watching over her, she knew she couldn't be in any danger.

Gajeel watched as Levy's head fell back on the pillow, the stench of fear that had filled the room dissipating as it did. He gave Wendy a questioning look, asking without opening his mouth why she hadn't done it before. The other Dragon Slayer responded, her voice so low that he knew Levy wouldn't be able to hear it.

"It has the same weakness as Troia. The more I use it the less effective it gets. I just… I couldn't leave her like that."

Gajeel nodded subtly. He knew that he had to bring up the question of Lin some time before the council came to question her. He didn't want her to find out what the idiots had accused her of when they burst in and started shouting about it. The more he thought about it the more he realised that now was as good a time as any – if she was under Wendy's spell then that reduced the chances of her freaking out about it. He perched on the edge of the bed next to her head and used his hand to smooth her hair back out of her face. Her eyes opened, and where he expected them to be groggy they were just as bright as before. Wendy's magic must have worked in a different way to the drugs they had put her on.

"Levy… I need to warn you. Lin… He told the council that you helped him. They want to question you as a suspect."

He smelt a sharp tang of panic before it was gone, and she smiled to herself. She closed her eyes as if she were going to sleep, but Gajeel heard none of the signs that she was drifting off.

"Of course he has. He's clever. Proving that I didn't do it is going to be incredibly hard."

Gajeel bit back a growl. He couldn't believe the council's stupidity. Levy was the best translator in Fiore, everyone knew that. How difficult was it to believe that she had simply done it as a job?

"Don't worry, Mira says that she has all the records from him submitting the job request, she can…"

"No." Levy shook her head, but she still had that eerie smile on her face. Gajeel wasn't quite sure whether or not he preferred it to her simply being asleep until she had fully healed. "That isn't going to work. It would have been effortless to submit that as an alibi. Same with me meeting him for 'the first time' in the hotel. They know that we're both clever and would have thought it through… I'll think about it. I'll prove my innocence, don't you worry Gajeel."

Her eyes opened then, and Gajeel saw a fire behind them that he never realised he had missed quite that much. He grinned to himself. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. And though he would be there to support her however she asked, she was perfectly capable of doing this on her own. She was strong, intelligent and… just fucking perfect. Her eyes darted around the room, perfectly alert despite her tranquillity.

"There is one thing I need to figure out, though… He knows that I will be able to prove my innocence. He's not stupid, Gajeel. In fact, I really do think he's smarter than me. All this is going to do is delay his trial, and I can't think why he would want that…"

She toyed with her lower lip the way she always did when she was thinking, and Gajeel was glad that it had healed from the poison burns that had been on it before. She used his arm to pull herself up in the bed, leaning back on the headboard as she did.

"Can you get as much information as you can about Lin, about his history and about what's going on in the trial and bring it to me? Oh, and Gajeel, if you don't mind I'm going to need you to write for me too."

* * *

 

Lin sighed as he threw himself down onto the bed. The guard who had been assigned to him was maybe a couple of years older than he was but carried himself like someone who was inexperienced in his role. Lin dropped his shoulders down, unconsciously rubbing at where his wrists were bound in front of him. The guard checked on the runes, but the way he did it told Lin he was following a specific pattern, a checklist that he had been told in training. Lin shot forward suddenly, surprising the man as he sprinted past and wretched into the toilet. After he'd heaved a few times he fell back onto the floor, before crawling back over to the bed. The guard was stood awkwardly off to the side, watching him as he heaved himself up onto the sheets. It was a nice bed, he thought, as he held his wrists up to the guard.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to being teleported."

His voice was thin, exhausted. The guard nodded quickly, grabbing his keys and using them to undo the cuffs and reconnect them to his belt. Lin sighed again, rubbing where the metal had chaffed against his skin. The guard walked back out of the cell, closing the door behind him as Lin leant back, and grinned.

The cell was small, sure, but nice enough. Lin realised it must have been something to do with his high status, but he wasn't complaining. He could use it to his advantage. The council had been so confused that someone of his social standing had even committed a crime, let alone what he had done. It allowed him this much nicer cell, and the ability to talk guards into releasing him from the cuffs. Even without his magic, he could manipulate people. Plant the idea that he was weak to make the man feel sorry for him, pretend to throw up and tell the guard it was because of teleporting and he might forget Lin's magic. He was following a checklist, and the majority of prisoners they would remove the cuffs. The runes that shimmered around the room would stop him from escaping by any normal means. Of course, he could teleport out, but that wasn't the plan. He didn't know how long he had, not all of the guards would be had inexperienced as the idiot he had just exploited.

* * *

 

He stretched out on the bed, relaxing down into the mattress. Communication telepathy really wasn't his forte, but that didn't mean he couldn't use it. He allowed his mind to flow out of his own body, getting further and further away from his physical being as he searched for a mind he recognised. Every telepathy mage he encountered he used to boost his own range, and he found a lot within the prison he was being kept in. He had a fair amount of experience with the minds of telepathy mages, and he skirted around the edges just enough to not be noticed. He didn't know how far away he was, or how many minds he had invaded before he finally found one he knew. Taking a deep breath he slipped into it fully and consumed the man's consciousness entirely.

His vessel was sat on a bed, a very scantily clad woman asleep on his lap. His fingers were weaving their way through her hair, and his mind was filled with worry and love. He was afraid of losing her. It would be so easy for Lin to make him kill her, but he recognised this woman and knew he could have a lot more fun. Plus, killing her would alert suspicion a lot more than what he had in mind. Taking people in their sleep was easier when taking people when they were awake, and it was almost too easy the way he eased into her mind.

She was already in the beginnings of a dream when he entered it. Controlling dreams was one of the first things he had learnt about his magic, and he grinned to himself. Fairy Tail really didn't make this difficult for him. His fear magic searched around in her brain for its target and found an anxiety it could work with. _Abandonment. This girl was scared of abandonment_. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Controlling dreams were a lot like directing a movie, he found. He didn't have a set point of view, more he was aware of everything happening around him. She was in the same bed in her dream as her physical body was, but the man who was in bed with her was straddling her thighs. Oh. This was _that_ kind of dream. Lin let the dream flow naturally, waiting for something to work with.

_"How can I go back to sleep when you've turned me on so much?"_

Lin adjusted the reaction slightly. Bacchus grinned slightly wider than he would have naturally, and Lin made sure to elongate his teeth. He felt a small twinge of hesitation from the girl, but the dream still continued. Lin wracked his brain for a moment, remembering the magic that the man used. Palm magic. He could use that to his advantage. He made the man's hands move up her chest and cover her neck. As soon as her eyes shot open and the whole dream tilted in fear, Lin knew he had done something right. Now it was time to go all out. Pouring his magic to encompass her dream he made the image of the man morph into himself, and grin down at her. He would plant an idea of what he wanted her to do in her mind, and then leave. He highly doubted she would actually murder the whole guild, but it would still scare her enough to keep her on edge for a while. And people who were scared were much less likely to make sensible points in the court.

* * *

 

He reentered his own mind just in time, as another guard walked into his cell. The guard looked embarrassed and held a pair of magic blocking cuffs in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Mr Chasso… As you're a teleportation mage we need to keep the cuffs on you."

Lin smiled, a sweet charismatic smile he often used with people in his business life to get whatever he wanted.

"That's okay, I understand."

He had done enough in his time to himself anyway.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - As always, thank you for all of your comments and reviews on this story! It cheers me up every time I read them! 


	61. Chapter 61

Gajeel and Levy had started to argue when Lily walked into the room. Levy needed him to go and find as much information as he could, but Gajeel was flat out refusing to leave her side. Lily walked over to them, jumping up onto the bed as he got closer. He tried to keep down his excitement at seeing her awake again, in addition to his anger that Gajeel hadn't bothered to tell him she had woken up. He dove into her arms as he realised he wasn't capable of anything else right now. He heard Gajeel growl deep in his throat, but Levy reached her left arm up and around the exceed, burying her face into his fur as she did. She really was glad to see that her friend was safe.

"How are you feeling, Levy?"

His voice was muffled in her shoulder, and Levy smiled into his head.

"I'm feeling better than I thought I would if I'm honest. If a little useless. I really want to start doing some work but someone's being stubborn."

At her last words, she looked up at Gajeel, leaning back in the plastic hospital chair and glowering over at her. As soon as their eyes met he tugged his gaze away, but Levy could see a smile playing at the corners of his lips. No matter how annoyed he was he still loved her deep down.

Lily pulled away, walking down to the end of the bed before sitting down. He looked at the pure determination in Levy's face and knew she needed to work in order to get back to her normal self. He didn't know what she wanted, but one thing he did know was that he was going to try his hardest to get it for her.

"What do you need, Levy? I can do the best I can to get hold of it for you."

Levy grinned, repeating her request to the exceed as Gajeel breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad Lily was offering his services because it meant he still didn't need to leave Levy's side. Even though he would still be in the hospital he didn't want to let the script mage out of his sight.

* * *

Lily knocked gently on the office door, knowing that Cana and Bacchus were locked on the other side. Although they didn't smell overwhelmingly of sex like they had before, he still didn't know what they were doing. When he heard someone call him in he opened the door slightly, poking his head around to look inside the room.

Bacchus was sat at the top of a hospital bed, communications lacrima in one hand and a piece of paper under the other as he rested it on the wall to write. Cana was curled up in the bed, head in his lap and clutching onto one of his hips so hard Lily could see bruises already starting to form. Bacchus looked up at him for a second, before telling whoever was on the other end of the lacrima that he would call them back and hang up.

"What can I do for you?"

He looked utterly exhausted, and as soon as he wasn't keeping up appearances for the council his voice drawled. Lily wondered when the last time he slept was. From the bags under his eyes, he guessed that it was a while.

"Levy's awake and wants as much information on the court case and this maniac's life as she can get. I can take it over to her and then come back and take over everything at this end so you can get some sleep."

Bacchus sighed, rubbing his temples as he did. He tore a few pieces of paper from the pad underneath his hand and leant forward to pass them to Lily, trying not to disturb Cana as he did.

"This and the papers on the desk is all I have from the council around the court case. It's not much, they're keeping pretty quiet about it. I've made notes on what they've asked as well, and either the answers I've bullshitted or what Makarov has told me to say. As for history on Lin, I can't help you. But I did do a mission with this guy with archive magic once, from Blue Pegasus? I'll try and get a hold of him and see if he can find anything."

Lily walked over to the desk, grabbing all of the papers he could along with a couple of empty notepads and pens for Levy's own research. Just before he was about to leave he spotted a pair of gale force glasses, much less stylish than Levy's normal pair but he guessed they worked just the same.

"If you can write down how to get hold of Blue Pegasus I'll call them as soon as I've given this to Levy. Get some sleep, I'll be back soon."

He watched as Bacchus started to slide down onto the bed, pulling Cana on top of him slowly as he did. She woke for an instant, panicking at Bacchus' movement before settling down and cuddling up into him. The drunken mage was asleep before Lily had left the room.

* * *

"Hibiki Lates! How didn't I think of him? Stupid!"

Levy's voice was full of annoyance as Lily laid all of the information on the table Gajeel had grabbed and pulled over the bed. Wendy was still working on Levy's right hand, and the left was clenched into a fist on the surface.

"Levy, you're on so many drugs right now you shouldn't be annoyed if you can't put one or two things together."

Wendy's voice was light and happy, and Levy didn't know if it was a holdover of her magic that it calmed her down. Levy took a deep breath and started on the stack of papers in front of her.

* * *

Gajeel was amazed at the speed Levy read through the papers, although he supposed he shouldn't be. She was on a mission, and nothing was going to slow her down. She was now sat back against the headboard of the bed, right hand stretched out to be healed by Wendy and eyes closed as she raced through her thoughts. The pen in Gajeel's hand was moving as fast as he could manage it, but he had never quite got used to the blockier lettering of Fiorian and he was lagging behind as Levy rattled off her theories.

"The council are concentrating on how he did it rather than a timeline of what he did, which is certainly strange. His whole defence is working off him gaining too much magic to keep track of before he hurt anyone because like Lily says he knows that we can't prove otherwise so it's our word against his. Add to that the fact he's…"

Gajeel felt a hand on his shoulder and was about to grab whoever it was before he looked up to see Freed staring down at him. He was dressed in the same sweatpants all of the wizards had been dressed in as soon as they got to the hospital, but he had found a tank top from somewhere as well. His hair had been tied back roughly into a pony tail, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. It was a look far from his usual perfect prim attire. Gajeel could smell the other man had spent the last few days in close proximity to the Raijinshuu and most of the Strauss siblings, and there was the smallest hint of two other Dragon Slayers as well. They must have visited him. The Rune Mage was staring pointedly at his hand, and Gajeel looked between him and the pen before realising what he was hinting at. Freed was certain to be a much quicker writer anyway, and as Gajeel passed the pen and paper he fell onto a chair and seamlessly started to write, even adding his own notes in here and there in different coloured inks that somehow managed to flow through the same pen. Gajeel just sat and watched as the three other mages in the room performed their own specialities, and suddenly wished he had someone to beat up.

"I guess what I really need to know is exactly how he did it. I know it uses Sieth and Takeover magic, that's why he took Bickslow and Lisanna first. If we can prove he couldn't have taken the magic before beating up Bickslow we may have a chance. Didn't Wendy say the Raijinshuu were still here? We could… oh. Hi, Freed."

Gajeel looked up as Levy opened her eyes, surprised at the Rune mage sat by the side of the bed. He finished up the last few notes, passing them over to Levy before sitting back in his chair.

"It's good to see you awake, Levy. You had us worried there for a moment."

Levy smiled, blushing slightly. Gajeel knew she hated making anyone worry over her, and Freed was no different.

"What are you doing, Freed?"

Freed indicated the papers in front of him, smiling as he did. Gajeel could smell that he knew that wasn't what Levy was asking. His heart had increased with the fear of his lie and he had started to sweat slightly.

"I've written down everything you said and added notes where I could add further information. I'm afraid I don't know much, but what I do you can find in red and green."

Levy sighed, grabbing Freed's hand as he pointed to the different colours in front of him. Gajeel's dragon rose when their skin touched, but he managed to fight it down.

"That's not what I asked, Freed."

Gajeel thought he saw Freed's perfect image crack, if only for a second. It wasn't until it fell that he realised that despite his dishevelled look he still had an air of control that he hadn't seen anyone in the hospital hold. But now it gave way and Gajeel could see a young man who was afraid, despairing and in a lot of pain. It was weakened for a second before he managed to wrestle control again, and he smiled up at Levy. Obviously, he didn't show weakness outside of his team if he even showed them at all.

"I'm fine. I just had to get out of that room. There's only so much anyone can take of the Strauss's and Laxus worrying over everything and nothing. Laxus fell asleep so I thought I would take the opportunity to take a walk, and then found Gajeel struggling. You're not the only one who wants to get straight back to work. Now come on. We have to crack this man before the trial."


	62. Chapter 62

Levy sat back against her headboard, deciding not to argue with Freed any further. If he didn't want to tell her, that was his business. At least she would be able to go and talk to Mira to speak to him and ascertain if anything was wrong. In her mind, the one thing she needed to know to crack how to make sure Lin was locked away for a very long time was to understand inside and out exactly what he did in that basement. And there was only one person who knew that.

"Freed, is Bickslow in any sort of state to come and talk to me? I need to ask him exactly what he did to transfer everyone's magic over."

The rune mage grimaced, copying Levy's movements and sitting back in his own chair. His biceps flexed as he crossed his arms, but Levy couldn't read exactly what he was thinking.

"I know the most about Sieth magic of anyone on the continent apart from Bickslow. Ask me any questions and I will answer them as best as I can."

Levy wanted to swear at him. All of this had happened to the guild and still Freed stayed as stoic and unreadable as he had always been. But deep down she knew that Freed wouldn't crack. She had seen his demeanour fall exactly twice since she had met him. The first time when Laxus fought Gajeel and Natsu on top of Kardia Cathedral, and the second when Mira was taken by Lin. Even when he himself was being teleported away he was as impassive as he always had been. He didn't ask for help, even if it was in everyone else's best interest. That's what had made him become the leader of the Raijinshuu, this aura of authority and control he could project. Still, she clenched her left fist and hit it on the bed. It made Gajeel lurch forward, but she didn't care.

"I didn't say I needed to know about Sieth magic. I need to know exactly what he had to do. You weren't there, and unless he's told you everything since then you don't know! If I can tell the council what Lin made him do maybe I can get us out of this. And I can't do that unless I talk to him."

When Freed responded his voice was dark and cut through Levy's anger like a knife. She could see a glint in his eye that was exactly what she saw in Gajeel when he was guarding her. Freed wasn't being difficult to preserve his own image, he was protecting Bickslow.

"If you tell them that Bickslow is a Sieth mage you'll be signing his death warrant."

Levy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, before reaching out to touch Gajeel's leg. The Dragon Slayer had risen to his feet as soon as Freed had spoken, and a growl was evident in the back of his throat even to Levy's ears. Freed stared the taller man in the eye as he continued his statement.

"Sieth magic is illegal. And not just a little illegal, a lot illegal. If you give the council even an inkling that that's what Bickslow is then he's dead. Either that or he's out of Fairy Tail forever, and I can't condone that either."

Levy pulled on Gajeel's trousers, forcing him to sit back down on his chair before she tried to think of a solution. There had been whispers that Bickslow's magic was illegal, sure, but that illegal? If he'd lasted this long in a legitimate guild then he'd have to…

"What's his cover story?"

Freed sighed deeply. He had thought he would get out of this, but obviously not. Levy was much more stubborn than what was good for her.

"Telekinesis mage."

Levy smiled. Her brain was working at a hundred miles an hour again, just like old times.

"Well then. It's even more important that I talk to him. I need to know exactly what he did in order to construct a good enough lie to tell the council."

Freed sighed, and Levy could see that she had won. He rubbed his temple with his fingers, and when he spoke he sounded like a defeated man.

"Fine. I'll go and get him. But I can't promise that he'll tell you anything. Bickslow can get a bit…"

The sentence hung in the air as Freed struggled to find the words. Levy looked over at Gajeel, it wasn't like Freed to not know exactly what to say. Lin had obviously affected the rune mage more than anyone originally thought. In the end, it was Wendy who broke the silence, stopping her healing of Levy's hand as she did.

"I can go and get him! I'm out of healing magic anyway and I need to go and check on Chelia."

The little Dragon Slayer bowed before she headed out to the door, and Levy watched her go before she realised something else that would be useful.

"Could you bring one of the Strauss siblings as well? I need to know some more about Takeover magic too!"

The smaller girl nodded as she went out of the door, and Levy didn't remember until too late that she forgot to thank her. Internally chastising herself she made sure it was the first words out of her mouth before turning her head to Freed and getting back to business.

"While you're here, could you tell me a little more about Rune magic? Can the Council use runes to act as a truth magic?"

Freed smirked, standing up to move his chair around to the other side of the bed. Levy wondered what he was doing for a moment, before realising that he was making space for Bickslow and whatever Strauss sibling came along with him.

"I make most of my money through providing truth runes to the council. I can't this time for obvious reasons, but I have it on good authority that Rufus Lore from Sabertooth is doing it for them."

Levy looked at him in confusion. She had known that the Sabertooth mage was versatile, but…

"Rufus knows rune magic?"

Freed smiled again, stretching his legs out in front of him so that they stuck underneath Levy's bed before he pulled the papers he had been working on back over to him in preparation for when Bickslow appeared.

"He knows every magic he memorises, and he memorises every magic that he sees. We're good friends, I can tell you he knows plenty of Rune Magic to do this. I can teach him a clause that ignores any lies told surrounding Bickslow, that way they won't be able to tell you're lying about him. All we need to do is come up with a convincing argument as to how telekinesis magic could have been used to steal magic."

Gajeel grunted from the other side of the bed. Since Levy had forced him to sit he had closed his eyes, and Levy had assumed he had fallen asleep he had been so quiet.

"Why not get him to set up a trap that just doesn't work? Then the Shrimp can lie all she wants and it won't pick anything up."

Freed opened his mouth to respond, but Levy got there first. She reached out to grab a hold of Gajeel's hand and pulled it next to her side.

"It doesn't work like that. The council will want to test that it works properly, so it needs to pick up other lies. Plus, I have nothing to hide. We don't need it to fail completely."

Gajeel grunted again, not fully understanding but not wanting to get into a fight about it either. The Shrimp had been through enough stress already.

Levy wasn't able to ask Freed any more questions before Bickslow appeared, pushing Lisanna in front of him in a wheelchair. Bickslow was wearing large glasses over his eyes, which were flickering from red to green as he walked in. Both eyes were heavily bruised, along with his nose and Levy assumed it was from where she had seen Lin punching him to knock him out. He was surrounded by little Gray dolls floating around his head, and Levy realised that they were his totems. She had never seen them so subdued, two were clinging to Bickslow as one lay in Lisanna's lap. He must have gotten them from Juvia at some point, and Levy realised it was probably safer for them to be in softer bodies while they were in the hospital. The two mages sported matching bandages around their upper torsos, and despite the smile on Lisanna's face, Levy could only see her body laying broken on the floor in Lin's basement. She suddenly found it hard to breathe, despite the oxygen mask on her face, and before she knew it she was pulling the mask up and grabbing a bowl off her bedside table to be sick again. The other mages in the room were strangely silent as she kept heaving, and it wasn't until Freed spoke that she felt another wave of calm wash over her.

"Dark Ecriture, calmness"

As soon as the magic hit she felt her lungs inflate with oxygen and the need to throw up subsided. She coughed a few times, spitting out the last of the vomit from her mouth as Gajeel took the bowl and passed her some water. Lisanna had picked up the doll from her lap and was almost cradling it in her arms as Bickslow sat himself down on one of the other beds heavily and Levy thanked Freed.

"It's good to see you awake, Levy. And I need to thank you. For saving us all. If you hadn't have shown up when you did then I don't know…"

Tears started to well up in Lisanna's eyes as she spoke, and Bickslow placed a hand on her shoulder for support. It wasn't long before another ecriture flew from Freed's eye and collided with Lisanna's body, Bickslow looking up at Freed in thanks as the Rune mage slumped slightly lower in his chair. The spells had obviously taken something out of him. Levy coughed slightly, before looking over at Bickslow. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like an utterly broken man, nowhere near the acrobatic mage that jumped around the guild and made perverted jokes. Maybe she had to do this tactically.

"Bickslow. I needed to ask you exactly what you did when you transferred the magic over to Lin, in as much detail as possible. Are you okay to tell me?"

Bickslow's eyes looked up at his leader, who nodded almost imperceivably. Lisanna's hand snaked up her torso to clasp his, and Levy could see his jaw tighten as he thought through what he was going to say before his eyes finally rested on the floor. Both of the dolls that were in the air flew closer to him, resting on his shoulders as they did.

"Papa?"

Bickslow's spare hand shot to the doll that had spoken, stroking down the fabric on it's front before he spoke.

"It's ok, Poppo. Okay. I'll tell you. He had done an awful lot of research into how exactly it needed to be done. He knew a lot about magic. Magic is tied to your soul, you see. That's how it's so closely linked with your emotions, and how emotions can both make it stronger and send it out of control." The Sieth mage winced, and Levy noticed Lisanna clenching his hand harder. She wondered why Freed didn't use his calming ecriture on his friend, but before she could ask Bickslow was talking again.

"He didn't have a chance of controlling that many souls at once, believe me, I've tried, and as soon as he saw that in my head and knew I wasn't lying he asked me to transfer only the magic. That's what saved us. He had no qualms about me ripping someone's entire soul out and killing them if that's what it took. But this way, if the person died that meant he would lose that magic as the soul disappeared. He had to keep them alive. I had to transfer every single soul for him, though. He couldn't take my Sieth magic for himself because it's in my eyes. That's why he had to use takeover to switch between the souls and their magic."

Levy knew he was giving her a watered down version of the story, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him what had happened to make him do what Lin had said. She had seen the state he and Lisanna had been in, and now he wasn't looking that much better. She was about to ask Lisanna about how the takeover magic was used until the white haired girl spoke up for herself.

"We use two different magics. Transformation magic, which allows us to change shape into whatever we want, and takeover magic which allows us to use the power and attributes of whatever soul you specialise in. I don't know if a human takeover mage is possible, but none of us three could do it anyway. But, if someone transferred a human soul into us then I suppose we could use our magic to take it over…"

Lisanna's sentence drifted off into nothingness, and her eyes seemingly glassed over. Levy wondered if it was her reaction to the pain medication she was on, without Wendy's magic to clarify her mind. Bickslow pitched forward, catching her head as it lolled backwards and Levy judged by the lack of panic that she had done this before. Two of Bickslow's dolls flew down onto her lap before the man himself lay a kiss on her forehead before burying his face in her neck. Levy watched Freed as he wrote the last few sentences of what the two had said, before bothering Bickslow with one last question.

"Bickslow, the tattoo on your forehead, it's the mark of a Sieth mage isn't it?"

The man nodded, not bringing his head up off Lisanna's neck even an inch, forcing Levy to continue.

"What have you told the council about that?"

It was Freed who answered, and Levy wondered whether it was to protect his friend.

"He hasn't. That's the reason he wears a mask instead of just glasses like Evergreen. It covers the fact he even has a tattoo."

Levy shook her head, it was a good explanation up until the extended period he had just spent without his mask covering his face.

"No. They must have had another explanation. If Sieth magic is as bad as you've said it is, he would have had been taken from the hospital. Why haven't they arrested him since he got here?"

She noticed Bickslow stiffen in fear, but Freed tapped his chin in thought. He knew that the council wasn't going to arrest Bickslow now if they hadn't already.

"Now… that I don't know..."

Freed's speech was interrupted by someone running into the room, someone who Levy hadn't expected. The man was familiar to them, despite the fact that Levy couldn't for the life of her recall his name, and he rushed over to Freed's side, pulling him into a hug despite the fact they were in company.

"Freed! Sting and Rogue mentioned you were in the hospital, how are you? I've…"

"Rufus! What are you doing here?"

The man's name came flooding back into Levy's mind, Rufus Lore. The man who had been doing the council's rune traps. The memory-make mage paused, obviously rethinking what he was going to say when he realised that Freed wasn't alone. They must have been really good friends.

"I've been sent ahead to do the rune trap for Ms Mcgarden's questioning, although I guess if you're here then you might want to do it yourself to fit whatever story you're telling. The council will be here very soon, though, so I suggest..."

Freed raised a hand, and the younger man stopped in his talking. Levy didn't think she had ever seen him speak that much to anyone, but after a while realised that he must have studied rune magic under Freed for a while.

"That's good to know, but right now I need to ask about something else. Do you know what the council have been told about Bickslow's tattoo?"

The blonde looked confused for a moment, before speaking slowly.

"If I remember correctly… your guild master told them that he got it done while he was drunk and it wasn't a real Sieth tattoo."

Freed nodded his head, smiling to himself at Makarov's plan even as he started laying very specific truth runes. Levy grinned as well, shooting up in the bed as an idea came to her head.

"Then that's what we do. We tell the council that Lin saw the tattoo and assumed that Bickslow was a Sieth mage. It wasn't until after he had been tortured that he realised that Bickslow couldn't control anyone's souls. How can a telekinesis mage do anything like what he's suggesting? This way we prove that Lin must have roughed Bickslow up _before_ he gained any extra magic and I'll make up something about the bastard's tattoos as to how he actually did it!"

Gajeel grinned at the Shrimp's enthusiasm, before clenching her hand tighter. She turned to look at him, smiling as she did.

"Now all we have to do is prepare what we tell the council. It'll be a breeze, I promise."

"If you don't mind, I need to take Lisanna back to Chelia."

Bickslow had stood without Levy even noticing, and she nodded as he left the room. She had a feeling she wouldn't have been given a choice anyway. Freed finished his rune trap and began collecting the papers from the table in front of her. It would do nobody any good if the council saw what they had been planning.

"And I shall take my leave as well. Laxus should be waking up soon, and I need to be there when he does. I shall leave you in Rufus' capable hands."

The blonde mage looked between the two remaining Fairy Tail wizards awkwardly, before taking a chair in the corner of the room and waiting for the council to arrive.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - as always, the biggest of thank you's to Gajeelswoman for betaing this for me. She is perfect and wonderful and I love her to bits. Go and check her out if you haven't already!
> 
> Also a huge thank you to everyone who leaves comments. I read every single one, and will get around to replying to them once Gajevy week is over!


	63. Chapter 63

“Miss McGarden?”

 

The man was old, obviously they were pulling in all the stops in this court case and bringing in one of the higher ranking council members. Of course they would, Gajeel thought. They were implicating a very rich, very powerful man when they were only a small wizard’s guild. The top guild in Fiore as it may be, it was still unprecedented. If he hadn’t admitted to at least some of the charges Gajeel didn’t think they would have even had a chance to get him to this stage. This was exactly why they didn’t bother getting the council involved earlier, they would have just stalled Levy and left it longer before the bastard got put behind bars.

The rune barrier flashed as the man walked through, followed by his two lackeys. They would serve as both note takers and bodyguards, Gajeel knew because he had been in trouble with the council so many times in the past. They looked at him nervously. Obviously they both knew that even with the two of them they wouldn’t have a chance if it came to a physical fight. The older councilman had no such qualms. He had obviously been in the council long enough to have forgotten that he was, in fact, mortal. 

Levy had been resting her eyes before they walked in, and Gajeel had hoped that she had gone to sleep. But at the mention of her name they opened, a fire burning behind them that told him that she was filled with determination. This was where Levy really came into her own, and he couldn’t wait for her to show Lin just what she could do.

“Mr. Lore, I take it that the runes are also blocking any magical powers being used?”

Rufus nodded in the corner of the room, his own eyes closed as he leant his head back against the wall. He had taken his hat off to rest it on his knees, and his hair lay perfectly over his head. Gajeel looked at him in confusion, was he lying? He hadn’t felt his magic power drain like the last time he had used it. He tried turning his hand to iron, just to test it, and found it impossible. Fuck. Freed must have added it in must more skillfully than he or Levy had done before. He looked at the two men who had accompanied the councilman. They stood taller now, more confident in their ability to beat the Dragon Slayer now. Gajeel had to force himself to stop smirking. He was still perfectly capable of taking the both of them down even without using magic.

“Good. Kauro, if you could please place the handcuffs on Miss McGarden.”

One of the lackeys, short with dark brown hair, took a step towards Levy before Gajeel stood up and blocked him.

“What the fuck? Why are you handcuffing her?”

The man in front of him coughed slightly, before looking at his superior. The older man just nodded, apparently Gajeel didn’t warrant explanation from a higher up like him.

“Well, Sir, it’s standard procedure to handcuff anyone being questioned in case they use magic.”

Gajeel stared down at him, suddenly glad his dragon had been taken out by the runes. If it hadn’t been then the man in front of him would have been dead where he was standing.

“In magic blocking runes? I might think blondie over there is a pretentious arse but I trust in his runes, don’t you?”

Gajeel had stumbled over a name for Rufus, about to say Freed before realising that if the council were aware that their own rune mage had set these runes up then it would have implicated everyone in the room. He hoped that the other men just saw it as him struggling to remember his name, and they didn’t appear to be any the wiser. Rufus himself simply smiled, raising a hand in thank you at Gajeel’s words.

“Well what if she runs?”

Gajeel’s mouth hung open, looking between the man and where Levy lay on the bed. Her chest was still bandaged, the oxygen mask still covering most of her face just like it had been before. That was funny, the way the man had reacted Gajeel thought she was suddenly healed and fighting fit.

“What if she runs!? Fucking look at her! She wouldn’t be able to walk out!”

Gajeel took a step towards the man, before Levy’s good arm shot out and grabbed his wrist. She looked up at him, eyes wide.

“It’s Okay, Gajeel. If it’s procedure, it’s procedure, right? It’s not like I have anything to hide. They’ll have to make do with only one wrist though”

Levy gestured at her right hand and the cast up her arm laughing slightly before noticing the anger still spread across Gajeel’s face. She smiled as sweetly as she could, and finally he collapsed back onto his chair, allowing the man to some past. Levy held her good arm up, allowing it to be chained to the bed. Yes, it was over the top. But right now she was just trying to prove her innocence, and it would take everything she could do. She waited as the council men fussed around setting up their notes, pulling over three of the uncomfortable looking hospital chairs to sit at the end of her bed. She noticed how the oldest of the three positioned himself behind the other two, and wondered just how bad she had been made out to be.

“So, Miss McGarden. Is there anyone else you would like to be here while we question you?”

Levy thought for a second, before looking at Gajeel. He might get offended, but she could think of someone who really could help.

“Yes, actually. Freed Justine.”

The leader of the Raijinshuu not only had experience lying to the council, she could imagine Laxus and Bickslow getting them in all kinds of trouble, she was also sure that between the two of them they could cover everything. All she got in return from the council, however, was a smirk as the leader shook his head.

“No can do. Mr. Justine is a rune mage, we can’t risk him interfering with the truth magic we have set up.”

Levy swore internally. She hadn’t even thought of that, which didn’t bode well for the rest of the interview. Even worse, she could have just implicated herself even more than Lin had. The council were bound to take it as an attempt to get out of the truth runes. Despite herself she smiled again, looking the council straight in the eyes. If she could show that she wasn’t too disheartened by Freed not being there…

“Yes. Of course he would do that. Obviously the highest ranked guild in the country is just full of liars.”

Levy sighed at Gajeel’s obvious snark, but it took the edge off having to think of a response for the council. She tried to ignore the grimace that came from Rufus over in the corner.

“Then that’s fine, I will be alright with just Gajeel here.”

She smiled at the Dragon Slayer, wishing she could hold his hand but ensuring she didn’t show the disappointment on her face.

“Now. If you could tell us your full name?”

“Levy McGarden. I don’t have a middle name.”

The runes remained inactive, and one of the mages looked at Rufus who simply nodded in response to say they hadn’t been activated.

“And how long have you been in Fairy Tail?”

Levy thought for a second, trying to remember the answer. Had it been…

“Thirteen years.”

Once again the runes stayed inert, and Rufus nodded again. Levy wondered if he had to confirm every question they asked. There didn’t seem much point to visible runes if he did.

“Ok, and now I need you to purposefully lie in answer to the next question so we can test the runes. What type of magic do you use?”

Levy’s mind went uncharacteristically blank. It was hard to come up with a lie on the spot. She stumbled for a second, before taking inspiration from who was in the room with her.

“Memory Make Magic.”

The runes suddenly flashed red, and stayed that way until Rufus waved his hand and cancelled it out. Wow, there really was no slipping small lies past them. Seemingly satisfied with his tests, the eldest investigator coughed before getting down to business.

“So, Miss McGarden. How long have you been planning this attack?”

Levy spluttered at the question, not expecting it to come so quickly. It was obvious that these men truly believed that she had done it. So much for remaining impartial. Never mind, she could still beat them at their own game.

“If you are referring to the attack on Mr. Chasso, then ever since we discovered he was behind the disappearances of our wizards.”

The runes remained stable, and Rufus nodded. Levy watched the man in front of her grind his teeth. Obviously when Lin pointedly avoided the question it was fine, but not with her.

“I meant the attack on your fellow guildmates.”

Levy forced her face into a blank expression, before replying. She really, really didn’t want to dignify him with a response but she realised that she was quite possibly fighting for her life here.

“I didn’t. I didn’t take any part in the attack on my guildmates.”

The runes flashed red, which was accompanied by a smirk on the council’s faces. Rufus didn’t wave his hand, however, looking pointedly at Levy. It couldn’t be right, she hadn’t taken a part in the… oh.

“Apart from translating notes for Mr. Chasso, I didn’t attack my guildmates.”

The runes cleared themselves as Levy took a deep breath. She knew that without that translation, Lin wouldn’t have had a chance. And thus she still blamed herself for what had happened. The runes had picked up on it, and made her look guilty. She swore to herself. She had to be more fucking careful. The council elder nodded, not allowing anything to show on his face any more. That was either good or very, very dangerous.

“So, how exactly did you manipulate Mr. Chasso into the atrocity of stealing a wizard’s soul?”

Levy took a deep breath. She couldn’t take too long to answer, that would look suspicious. Like she was thinking of something to get her out of it.

“I did not manipulate Mr. Chasso in any way. After delivering the translated documents that he hired me for the first time I met with him, the next interaction I had with him was when I went to confront him.” 

Levy’s memory overcame her brain again. Her chest constricted, getting tighter and tighter as she struggled to breathe, the oxygen in the room fighting to get through. Her stomach heaved even though it was empty and she groped around for a bowl in case she did end up throwing up only succeeding in knocking the vase next to her onto the floor with her cast. Her vision swam with images of the Raijinshuu hung up in a line, the smell of the blood that matted Kinana’s hair to her scalp and the dull thumping noise Lisanna had made when she hit the stone floor. Some vague part of her realised that Gajeel had put another bowl underneath her mouth while simultaneously pulling up her oxygen mask and she gagged into it, ultimately only spitting out saliva as her stomach protested it had nothing left to give.

“You did all of the research for him, you must have known the combination of that many souls with his own would break his mental capabilities?”

Her vision was filled with the insane expression Lin had given her as he grinned down at her in the church, and her chest ached where it had been hit by Jellal’s spell even though she knew that it had been healed before she even woke up. Her hands started to shake, the rattling of the cuffs sounding miles away, only to be interrupted by Gajeel’s voice moments later. It was clearer, but still sounded like she heard it through a foot of water.

“Give her a fucking moment! How do you expect her to answer right now?”

“How did he steal the souls? Is one of your guildmates a Sieth?”

A flash of green accompanied by intense pain, and Levy wondered if her brain was just filling in the gaps or if it had actually happened. She knew that Bickslow must have taken over her soul at some point when she was unconscious, but she couldn’t remember it could she?

“Memory Make; Dark Ecriture: Calmness.”

Another wave of calm washed over her, not as potent as before, and in the moment of clarity she wondered if it was addictive. Rufus slumped over in his chair, hat falling to the floor. It obviously took much more out of him than it took out of Freed. She sat up again, smiling as Gajeel passed her a glass of water.

“Thank you, Gajeel. And in answer to your question, no. We don’t have a Sieth. I do have a theory as to what happened there, though? Bickslow got a tattoo to try and improve his “look”, and if Mr. Chasso saw it he may have assumed he was a Sieth. There was no way Bickslow could have used his magic to steal souls, though. Although I do remember Mr. Chasso having tattoos, it might be something to do with that if I can have a look at them to translate…”

 

Levy realised that she was babbling, but at this point she just wanted to get out and go to sleep. Her panic attacks had taken a lot out of her, and she had had enough. She didn’t care if she went to jail anymore, maybe she could get some sleep there. As her eyelids started to close she noticed the three men stand up and turn around, and smiled that at least they weren’t arresting her just yet. She should be able to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Sorry this is a day late, had an awful weekend where I couldn't write at all *frustrated face*
> 
> As always the biggest of thanks to my wonderful Gajeelswoman. Seriously, go check her out right away.


	64. Chapter 64

Lin stared up at the ceiling of his room, trying not to let the grin growing up inside him spread across his face. His plan was currently working out excellently if what his guards told him was true. Quite a chatty bunch, they were. And the interesting thing about being a pathological liar is you become very good at noticing if others are telling the truth.

Levy McGarden had passed the truth runes, just as he thought she would, and yet the Council still hadn't called him in yet. That means they still doubted her. He stretched his legs out below him. He still wasn't out of the water just yet.

He was certain he was going to jail. That much was inevitable. Whereas it had never been a part of his original plan, it was now unavoidable and he had to adapt. And now it was looking like his stay wouldn't be too long, and relatively painless. It hadn't ruined his plans exactly, simply put them on hold.

From what he had heard the Sieth mage he had used hadn't been brought in for questioning, which was interesting, to say the least. In any case, he needed to allow him time to get away. It would probably come out during the trial that he had used Sieth magic to gain the magic from other mages if Levy hadn't sold him out to save herself already. When faced with the possibility of imprisonment, or just mentioning a few little sentences about the nature of Bickslow's magic? Lin could tell the two weren't particularly close… It would just be a matter of time before Ms. McGarden let the council know that the man was a Sieth. A Sieth mage was impossibly difficult to find, it was hard enough the first time let alone if the Council went on a crack down if they found out one of them had slipped through the cracks. He had to give the man plenty of time to escape, and then Lin would worry about tracking him down once he had gotten out.

He smiled to himself as he reasoned it through. It was a very good reason to delay the trial and possibly get himself in more trouble, that was for sure. But there was another reason, one which he wouldn't ever admit to. The longer he waited until he stood trial, the higher the chance that the Fairy Tail mages would all be out of the hospital. He could just see their faces as he wove his lies, as the council took his side. They would come to the trial, that was for sure. How could they resist? And when they found out that Ms. McGarden had risked her own guildmate's life to save her own? Oh, that was bound to be sweet. Along with the uproar when he got off on a light sentence. He turned his back to the wall, not letting the guards see the grin that he just couldn't hold down any longer. This was going to be so much more fun than he originally thought.

* * *

When Levy woke up she could hear low whispering around her. She groaned as her muscles protested, noticing that she no longer had an oxygen mask clasped around her mouth. Opening her eyes she pulled herself to sit up awkwardly, still only able to her left arm as the right was wrapped in a hard cast despite all of the work that Wendy had been doing on it. She looked around the room, noticing Gajeel sitting to the side of her and two more familiar faces sat opposite him. She squealed in excitement as soon as they looked over to her, and leant forward to hug them. As soon as she felt their arms around her she felt tears start to flow from her eyes.

"Droy… I'm so sorry I lied to you and didn't tell you what I was doing." Gajeel grunted. He hadn't gotten an apology, but he supposed this was the first time Levy had managed to take the time to actually sit and _think_.

"And Jet. What I asked you to do was so dangerous, I'm sorry I put you in that danger. I'm so glad to see you're okay."

Jet and Droy both felt tears falling down their own cheeks as they pulled away, looking Levy in the eyes as they did.

"Don't you dare apologise to us, Levy. What we did is nothing compared to you."

Levy scoffed but knew it wasn't something she was going to be able to argue with them. Whenever she had had discussions with her team along these lines before it had just ended with them falling out and she didn't feel like doing that right at this moment.

"The nurses said you can be discharged after a few tests when you woke up, just let us know when you want to call them in. Your arm will be in a cast for a while as you go through physiotherapy, but you're okay to go home."

Gajeel's voice was low, and Levy reached over to grab his hand. She noticed that the handcuff had disappeared along with the runes around the room, and she squeezed him before asking the room what she had been wondering.

"How long was I asleep for?"

Gajeel rubbed his temples, and Levy realised just how tired he looked. Had he even slept since they had got to the hospital? She hoped that he had been looking after himself while she had been out.

"Twelve hours. Freed popped in before he left and mentioned that the calming ecritures must have built up on top of each other and exhausted your body."

Levy groaned, her muscles were definitely protesting being in the same bed for so long. She felt better, it was only her right hand that was pretty uncomfortable, and even then it didn't strictly hurt. Now the idea had been planted into her head, she could think of nothing better than to go back to Gajeel's bed and curl up with him. He looked like he needed the sleep as much as she did. The tears what had been welling up in her eyes began to flow faster and faster, but she refused to sob. She refused to show any more weakness than she already had.

"I want to go home."

* * *

It wasn't long after Jet and Droy had left to get one of the nurses that Mira poked her head around the door of the room, knocking slightly as she did.

"May I come in?"

Levy nodded, grinning as the takeover mage walked in to take a seat next to her. She looked tired, and her eyes were rimmed with red as if she had been crying for a while. Levy was going to ask, before realising that it was probably the build up of what had been happening to her and her family.

"How are you feeling, Levy?"

Levy sighed but realised that it was a question she was going to be asked many times over the next few weeks. She told Mira that she was mostly fine, and it was just going to be a while before she regained use of her right hand. Mira smiled slightly, looking like she wanted to reach out and grab Levy's hand but realising that she didn't know what to do with the cast that she found there and settled just to place her hands in her lap.

"I spoke to Wendy. She said that you've been having issues with panic attacks, and I wondered if I could help you out. I went through a similar thing with Lisanna, and everything I say would just be my experience so I don't know how useful I would be but…"

Levy moved her hand over, resting it on Mira's lap and stopping her rambling. She could see that tears had started to well in her eyes, and wondered just how much the recent events had reminded her of when they had lost Lisanna.

"Thank you, Mira. I really think I could do with your experience. But right now I need to rest, and it might be good if you spent some time with Freed…"

Mira nodded, taking a deep breath and suddenly she was smiling again as if nothing had ever happened. Standing up, she walked to the door and waved goodbye as she disappeared.

* * *

Being discharged was a long and painful process. Levy went through multiple tests, the doctors apparently wanting to double and triple check that she was safe to leave. She had been given more pain killers for her arm, and instructions to attend physiotherapy twice a week for the foreseeable future. She stood up and walked slowly to the corridor, testing her legs after such a long time sitting down. Her hip and her knee had been broken, but Wendy's healing magic had sorted those out for her and now they just felt slightly stiff. She was tempted to ask for a wheelchair but was terrified that if she did they might want to keep her in longer. So instead she stayed clinging onto Gajeel's arm, hoping anyone watching would assume it was because of her wanting to be next to him more than anything else.

Stepping out into the town it was already dark, streetlights illuminating the cobblestones in a glow Levy had always found slightly eerie. He guided her through the streets of Magnolia, Jet and Droy on either side of them remaining strangely silent as they walked. Gajeel paused at a crossroads and turned to look down at Levy.

"Now, Shrimp. D'ya wanna go home or come back to mine?"

Levy paused for a moment, glad for the break to catch her breath. She thought for a while, before letting her heart make the decision for her.

"Would… would you mind if I come back to yours?"

Gajeel shook his head, turning left slowly so they could make their way back to his house. He kept looking down at his little bluenette, checking she was still okay and she wasn't about to just collapse. She was paler than normal, sure, but at the moment she was still walking at a steady rhythm and didn't appear to need help just yet. It was usually only a twenty-minute walk, but with the speed, they were walking it was an hour before they walked through the front door. Levy panted, breath short from the exertion as she headed for the stairs.

"It might sound strange, but I'm going to sleep for a bit. Does anyone mind?"

Everyone shook their head, and Levy was about to head up the stairs before she glanced into the front room to see two sleeping beds spread out on the sofas.

"We've been staying here, the last couple of days. It's closer to the hospital than our place, so we asked Gajeel if we could crash for a bit."

Droy sounded embarrassed, nudging at the ground with the toe of his boot when Levy looked over at him.

"We can leave if you…"

Levy shook her head quickly, before immediately regretting it when it made her slightly dizzy. She leant on the wall before Gajeel grabbed her shoulder for support.

"No. You can stay, if it's alright with Gajeel. It will be good to see you when I wake up. I'm... sorry. That I'm not quite with it yet. I promise when I wake up I'll…"

Jet waved her off, indicating for her to head upstairs.

"Go up to bed. Sleep. We will have plenty of time to talk to you later."

Levy barely got halfway up the stairs before her knees gave out, and Gajeel grabbed her in one smooth motion and carried her to his bed. She sighed as he took off her shoes, tired of feeling utterly hopeless, but allowed herself to be laid down. Gajeel sat down on the bed, starting to smooth her hair back before she grabbed his hand and pulled him down beside her. He huffed in annoyance, but she simply smiled up at him.

"How long has it been since you slept, Gajeel? Come and lie down with me. It may be hard for you to admit, but you need rest too."

The Dragon Slayer sighed, giving up any thought he had of arguing before ever so gently pulling Levy up into his arms, double checking he didn't hurt her before burying his head in her hair. He was asleep even before she was.


	65. Chapter 65

Gajeel awoke in what he approximated was mid-morning, judging by the position of the sun in the sky. He smiled as he buried his face deeply into Levy's hair, loving the pure scent that filled his nostrils now the other smells of the hospital had gone. He didn't want to wake her up, wanting this moment to last forever. In this moment they weren't in any danger, it was just the two of them in his nest and nothing could take that away from him. He didn't know how long he lay there, basking in the warmth of her skin and softness of her scent, until she started to stir. He took in a deep breath when he heard her wince as she adjusted, and began to rub her eye with her cast before she realised what was happening.

"Good morning, Shrimp."

Levy grinned, pulling herself up to kiss him. Gajeel reciprocated ever so gently, careful not to put too much pressure on her and she sighed in annoyance that he had gone back to treating her like glass. Her left hand found it's way up into his hair, tugging him down slightly as he stumbled and caught himself before he landed on top of her.

"Levy!"

He felt her smile into his mouth, and realised that there was zero chance of him winning this argument against her. He lowered himself onto her gently, moving away from her mouth to make his way down her neck. She sighed as his lips moved across her skin, concentrating all of her attention to the pleasure it shot through her body with every featherlight touch. His hand ghosted down her hip, touching lightly across her skin and making her moan slightly. Gajeel grunted at the noise, throwing himself down onto his back. Levy started to complain before he grabbed a hold of her waist, pulling her on top of him as she swung her hips to straddle his.

"Grumble all ya want, Shrimp. You're injured, you don't need my weight crushing you as well."

Levy smiled, trailing the fingers of her left hand down his skin and circling each of his piercings in turn. His palms rested on her thighs as she fell down on top of him, finding his mouth with hers as she took control. It was faster than Gajeel wanted it, heavier, but he guessed with her in control she shouldn't push herself too hard. His arms extended as he grabbed a hold of her arse and squeezed it. She moaned her pleasure into his mouth, and he allowed all of his senses to be encompassed entirely by her. She was balanced awkwardly on her one good arm, the other lay on the bed next to her where it was most comfortable. Her tongue invaded his mouth, and played with the piercing she found there. Her chest pressed against his, and she moaned lightly at the feeling.

"Hey guys, I was just wondering if you wanted…"

Levy squealed, jumping off Gajeel and hitting the bed hard. Her right arm bent oddly and she instinctively straightened it, not realising what she had done until she had pushed herself off the bed. Gajeel watched her fall over onto the floor, and started to chuckle at the squeal that escaped from her mouth until he looked over the side and saw her.

She was stretched out on the floor, body convulsing as the sharp tang of terror hit his nose. He swore, jumping off the bed and scooping her up into his arms. She kept shaking, her eyes glazed over and Gajeel realised that she was in the middle of a flashback and not in the real world anymore. He lay himself down on the bed, cradling her against his chest as he heard Jet from the doorway.

"I'll go get her some sugared water…"

Gajeel simply nodded as he saw tears spill from her eyes and down her cheeks, and kissed her gently on the forehead. He hoped that wherever she was, she could still feel him there and it would allow her to come back to him faster.

It took around half an hour for her to calm down, in the end. Jet couldn't stop apologising for setting it off, but Levy assured him that it was okay. It was something that was going to happen for a while, and she had to get used to it. Gajeel made a mental note to arrange a meeting with Mira sooner rather than later, along with asking the hospital if there was anything they could do. He had tucked Levy up into bed, and she was tucking into pancakes with bacon that Droy had made for her. Gajeel ate a couple, just to appease her, but he really didn't feel like eating any more. He watched her pour more syrup onto her plate, and focused all of his energy on not panicking himself. It wouldn't do her any good if he did.

She was talking to her team about asinine things, joking about with the two men as if nothing had happened. Gajeel didn't know whether to be happy that she was doing okay, or worried at how good she was at hiding how much she was obviously hurting underneath. He sat on the end of the bed, adding the occasional comment into the conversation but ultimately just watching her as she spoke, the way her eyes were still dead underneath. He hadn't seen them like that since… he shook his head. He couldn't be thinking like that, she wouldn't want him to. But still he couldn't stop himself from wondering how long it would take for the sparkle to return.

He almost missed the sound of someone climbing his fence outside over the chatter in the room, and he tried to smell who it was before realising his sense of smell was completely masked by the scent of bacon that had filled the house. He cursed at the idiocy of letting something like that happen at a time when he should have been on high alert, before standing up and moving to the door. Levy looked at him, but he waved his hand. He couldn't worry her in this state. He shared a look with Jet and Droy, and thanked his lucky stars that even those two idiots figured it out. He was suddenly glad for the drugs in Levy's system dulling her mind.

"Just heading downstairs a minute. I'll be back soon."

As soon as he was out of the line of sight from the room he allowed iron scales to cover his skin, preparing himself for the fight he was sure was coming. He huffed the breath out of his lungs, stirring up the air to try and discern a scent that wasn't Droy's cooking. He thought he could smell cigarette smoke… Wakaba? Or was it just an undertone of the smoked bacon Droy had used? His right arm turned to a club as he snuck his way down the stairs, whoever was outside was making their own way slowly around to the side of the house, picking their way through the many trees and bushes that made up Gajeel's garden. Gajeel did a quick calculation. If he could intercept the intruder on that side of the house it was the furthest away from his room, and thus he could get the most distance between the fight and Levy as possible. He sped up his pace, sneaking out the front door silently and heading towards the alleyway that ran between the fence and his wall. It didn't seem that whoever was there had noticed him, and Gajeel knew that he had the element of surprise. Cornering the side of the house he dropped into a fighting stance, starting to swing his club before a familiar haircut forced him to stop.

"Bickslow?"

The man looked, and smelt, different. Even though he was out in the open air he could barely pick up his scent under alcohol and cigarette smoke. He was wearing a bigger mask than normal, covering almost his entire face, leaving his hair out to the open, and if Gajeel didn't know better he could swear he could see glasses through the slits. He was topless under a cape, the smell of blood still wafting from the cut that spanned from his right shoulder to just below his left ribs, and an old pair of tatty jeans and trainers completed the look. It was odd to see the man not wearing what was obviously a well thought through outfit, but a very familiar smile broke across his face.

"Gajeel Redfox. I need to talk to you."

Gajeel would have had to have been stupid not to know what Bickslow was implying. He was in danger. The Dragon Slayer sighed, looking up in the general direction of where Levy was lying in bed and sighing.

"Okay. But we can't talk here. Levy might hear. Stay there, I'll be back soon."

Bickslow leant back against a tree, kicking at the ground in front of him and throwing dust up into the air as Gajeel walked back into the house.

Levy was exactly where he left her, although she had finished her pancakes. Gajeel let a smile break across his face, hating lying to her but knowing that it was probably for the best right now.

"Levy, I'm going to go and get some more food and get out of your hair. Are you okay here with Jet and Droy?"

His script mage nodded, and after asking if anyone wanted anything he spuan on his heel and jogged back down the stairs. He closed the door gently, jerking his head to indicate to Bickslow to get moving. The Sieth cackled, sprinting alongside him, before he opened his mouth.

"Come on. I know a place we can go to. Not that far away either."

The two men fell into step, and Gajeel watched as Bickslow fumbled to take a packet of cigarettes out of the pocket of his jeans, taking one out with his teeth before offering the package to him. The Dragon Slayer declined, causing the other man to shrug and pull out a fire lacrima. After striking it a few times he finally got the cigarette lit, taking a long draw from it before blowing the smoke up into the sky. Gajeel nearly choked on the acrid fumes, but managed to hold it back. Just.

"I didn't know you smoked, Bickslow?"

The man shrugged again, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and swinging it alongside him.

"I don't. I gave up. And then I gave up giving up. Torture tends to do that to you."

He looked sideways at the Dragon Slayer, sporting one of his signature grins before he put the cigarette to his lips again. Gajeel looked straight ahead. This wasn't a topic he wanted to get into. His Dragon was uppity as it was, and although Bickslow didn't belong to him it was still starting to get angry.

"Where are your creepy little doll things? Gone to sleep?"

Bickslow huffed, smoke billowing from his mouth as he did, and shook his head.

"Nah, they're with Lisanna. I have a straight line back to them so she can call me if she needs me. Plus, she isn't doing great being alone at the moment. I'm sure you understand."

The Dragon smashed at the bars of its cage, and Gajeel wished he had possessed the foresight to bring some magic blocking cuffs with him. He couldn't do with losing control at the moment. If he just got the topic off of Levy…

"How's everyone else?"

Bickslow's maniacal laugh echoed in his ears then, even more violent than normal and accompanied by plumes of smoke erupting from his lungs. Gajeel was starting to get worried when it stopped, the other man's face dropping to a mask of indifference as if he hadn't been laughing mere seconds before. The change from the almost insane cackling to a completely deadpan tone sent chills across Gajeel's skin, and he was pleased when Bickslow kept talking.

"Well, Lisanna is pretty badly injured both physically and mentally. Mira is having flashbacks to the aforementioned sister's death, and the only person she feels she can show any weakness to is Freed who is crumbling under the pressure of taking her worries on top of his. Evergreen is completely blind, and they don't know if her vision will come back. With the loss of her vision she's also lost control of her magic, and Elfman is having to take care of her which is putting strain on both of them. Laxus? Well, he's blaming it all on himself. That he wasn't strong enough, that it's his fault we all got hurt. Hey! We're here!"

The building that Bickslow had led them to was worn down to say the least. It looked like the type of place that allowed for drinking any time of day, and as the Sieth led him down the steps Gajeel's ability to see in the dark kicked in despite how bright the sun was outside. The place had the smell of damp and rot that Gajeel didn't think would go away even if it was aired out for a century, and rune traps glittered around them providing the only light as the Sieth meandered his way to the corner of the room. The bar was filled with people, but Gajeel could only hear his and Bickslow's footsteps. He had been in places like this before. No staff, and the runes would block any noise anyone made. There were no rules in places like these, and Gajeel was surprised there even was one in Magnolia so close to the Fairy Tail guild. He automatically created scales over his upper arms, covering his guild emblem. This wasn't the kind of place you wanted to advertise you were in a legitimate guild. He wondered what Bickslow would do about his. This was a dark place, perfect for doing dark business.

Bickslow sat down at one of the booths, pulling his cape off his shoulders and letting it fall to the chair. His chest was bandaged, but Gajeel could see blood starting to seep through. He wondered why it hadn't been magically healed. Bickslow pulled off his mask, leaving thick rimmed glasses underneath. Gajeel was about to question them when he saw Bickslow's eyes glowing bright green. The man had lost control.

Runes appeared on the table in front of them, a crude menu of what could be ordered. Gajeel waved it away, but Bickslow touched a few and seconds later alcohol and an ashtray appeared in front of him. He stubbed out the short remains of his cigarette, he had smoked it quickly, and seamlessly lit up another one.

"So, Gajeel. You're not stupid. You know what I'm going to ask."

He leaned back against the bench, once again blowing the smoke into the air and Gajeel cringed as it clung to the ceiling. It was going to get unbearable here, and quickly. The Dragon Slayer leant forward on his elbows, still refusing to look the Sieth in the eyes, not quite trusting the glass that lay between them.

"I thought Fairy Tail didn't kill people."

A billow of smoke accompanied the man's laugh, and Gajeel started to wish he'd brought something to dull the scent even just a little

"You seem to be forgetting who you're talking to. We were fully planning on killing most if not all of the guild to take it over."

Gajeel winced. The way he spoke so easily of his past sins… this wasn't the Bickslow he knew. This was the Bickslow from before Laxus had thrown his tantrum and suffered his fall from grace. He was beginning to see why people had been so scared of the Raijinshuu.

"But he's going to jail. Levy will make sure of it. Maybe it's best to let the Council sort this out, go through the proper…"

He was interrupted as Bickslow slammed his fists down on the table, forcing their eyes together as Gajeel looked up. His first reaction was to swing at the man, but after he managed to hold that back he clenched his eyes shut. Bickslow hadn't taken him over just yet, but he could never be too careful. Bickslow's voice filled the space in between the runes, and despite how low he had dropped it Gajeel could still hear it clearly.

"Levy is good, but she's up against someone who doesn't play by the rules. I need to kill him before he even goes to trial. I was going to kill him anyway, for what he did to Lisanna he has to die, but I can't risk him ratting me out."

He heard the other man lift his fists again, and Gajeel risked peeking through his eyelids. The surrounding area was glowing green with the power of Bickslow's magic, and it was even pulsing through the man's skin now, but his glasses remained in place as he slammed his fists against the table.

"If that bastard even mentions I'm a Sieth mage then it's all over for me. Best case scenario they kill me on sight, but even then I'm signing a death warrant for the babies. Otherwise they'll take me in for tests, try and 'humanely' remove my magic. Do you have any fucking idea how much it hurts to get magic ripped from your fucking eyes? Because I know."

Gajeel rested back against the chair, he couldn't let the man see if the anger he showed was affecting him. His Dragon pushed at its bindings, wanting to fight the Sieth but Gajeel held it down. Not now.

"We'll protect you, Bickslow. We won't let…"

Bickslow scoffed, taking another drag from his cigarette before tapping it against the ash tray and blowing out the smoke. He was calm again now, the magic subsided from his skin although it still shone clearly from his eyes.

"If they find out categorically what I am, especially from such an outstanding member of society" he spit the last words out with a malice that rivalled what Gajeel was feeling "Then no matter what you do I'm fucked. I'd have to leave Fairy Tail forever, leave the Raijinshuu and Lisanna behind. My magic is illegal, Gajeel. And not just a little bit. It's not just grey magic, it's deep into black territory. No matter what you say, Gajeel, Lin Chasso is dying tonight. I'm just giving you the courtesy of having a part in it, thought you might want some revenge for what he did to Levy."

Gajeel took in a deep breath, now more second hand smoke than air.

"What does Lisanna have to say about all this?"

Gajeel hadn't had much interaction with the youngest Strauss sibling, but he knew she wasn't the kind of person to condone murder. Surely she was going to stop her boyfriend committing such an atrocity. Bickslow just shrugged, lighting up a third cigarette while taking a sip out of the whiskey he had ordered. The man really was going for broke.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her, right?"

Gajeel drummed his nails on the scales covering his guildmark. There was just one more thing he needed to know before he made his decision.

"What about everyone else? How are we going to sneak it past them?"

Another maniacal grin spread across Bickslow's face, although Gajeel noted he kept his tongue and guild emblem firmly inside his mouth. He leant forward onto the table, and his eyes sparkled in excitement as his magical aura grew once again.

"Well, Gajeel. I suggest we keep this between you and me. I can sneak past Freed in my sleep, and you live alone. As for the girls, I paid a visit to Mira this morning. She won't remember it, of course, but she'll suddenly realise what a good idea it might be for all the girls to have a sleepover. Try and regain some modicum of normality, of course. In fact, Levy should be getting a call right about now…"

Gajeel grunted. If the guy was taking over Mira he must have some sort of death wish.

"Are you telling me you knew I would agree to this?"

Bickslow grinned tapping the side of his head as he leant back against his chair. Fucking hell the man couldn't sit still.

"Gajeel, my dear, I am incredibly good at reading people. I can see your soul and as an extension of that I can see what you really want."

Gajeel sighed. There was never any way he would have turned down the opportunity, no matter how much he tried to kid himself. He had hoped that being in Fairy Tail would have taught him something, but evidently deep down he was the same monster he always had been.

"Alright, so how do we do this?"

Bickslow leaned forward again, using his fingers to draw crude patterns on the table. Gajeel tried to pull away from the chemical fumes coming from the end of his still lit cigarette, but ultimately failed.

"I bumped into a Rune Knight earlier who was happy to cooperate with me, after a little persuasion of course. Don't worry, don't worry, the idiot doesn't remember a fucking thing. He told me Lin is being kept in a facility a few towns over. It isn't even high security, they don't think he's a fucking risk. Now, there are cameras trained on the outside of his door but none in the cell itself. He has magic blocking cuffs on, but the runes in there simply stop physical escape, they have no magic blocking properties. The last check for the night is at 10pm, after that no one goes into the room until 6 in the morning. It should be easy for someone with shadow magic to get in, and I have ways of killing him in a way they'll never detect."

Gajeel scoffed, although he did have to admit the plan was well thought through.

"You needed my help to get in. That's why you asked me?"

Bickslow looked offended, and Gajeel assumed it was because he had seen through his plan until he spoke.

"No, you just stopped me from having to take over every guard in the facility."

Gajeel sighed. The man sure was determined. At least now he could look at it that he was simply helping Bickslow not get caught. It was for the good of the guild, really.

"So I take you in, you do your thing and we get out of there?"

Bickslow crossed his arms across his chest, grinning wildly again.

"Oh no. Nothing that _boring_. See, if I learnt one thing from being in that basement it's that Lin has a taste for the dramatic. He likes things to have meaning. He strung the three of us up because it _looked nice_. He had collected the whole set. Now wouldn't it be fitting if we take him down to his basement, where all his crimes occurred, and kill him there? You can do that, can't you? And then we sneak the body back into the cell and no one would ever know he left."

Gajeel looked to the side. He supposed that Bickslow couldn't do his magic from shadows, either. At least if they were in the basement any evidence left behind could be explained by Bickslow's extended stay down there.

"Alright. We do it tonight."

Bickslow reached over, clapping him on the shoulder as if they'd just made a business deal.

"Fucking great. I've gotta make some final preparations to our friend's new home, I will see you back at your place at ten."


	66. Chapter 66

Jet was at the door before Gajeel had even stepped inside. The territorial part of him reared up at the speed mages presumption, but Gajeel managed to force it down. The Dragon would get his fun later tonight anyhow.

"What was all that about?"

If Jet had meant it as accusatory it didn't come across that way. More legitimately curious. Gajeel wracked his brains for the best response, before he realised it was probably getting to the point where he needed to reply before it looked off.

"Bickslow. Lisanna's reacted badly to the drugs and he wanted to know if Levy was having any of the same issues."

Jet nodded at the explanation, and Gajeel made a mental note to tell Bickslow his cover story. They had to do this wisely. He followed his nose to where Levy had moved downstairs, moving into the living room.

She was sat in his chair, knees pulled up to her chin as a book rested awkwardly on her cast. She was wearing one of his vests as a dress, and he tried not to think that it was probably the only thing she could get on easily. The Dragon didn't seem to be at all bothered by her use of his chair, and Gajeel made another mental note to ask him as to why that was. Levy was dead to the world like she always was when she had her nose buried in a book, and Gajeel was tempted to lift her onto his lap before deciding against it and stretching himself out on his sofa.

He hadn't intended to fall asleep, but realised he must have done when he woke up to Levy crawling onto his lap. She balanced awkwardly on his chest, and his right arm shot up to hold her steady. Couldn't have her falling off. She smiled down at him, planting a kiss on his cheek before settling herself down to nestle in the crook of his neck.

"Jet and Droy have gone back to their place for the night. Something to do with it being weird in the same house as us. Lily popped in too, but he's gone back to Wendy and Carla. He says Carla's precognition has been playing up."

Gajeel nodded. He must have been tired to have slept through all that, but he couldn't mention it to Levy. He needed to make sure his senses were at peak capacity before he headed off with Bickslow later. Maybe he could pick up some iron before he left?

"Gajeel… I got a call from Mira earlier today. She suggested us girls all have a sleepover tonight, to try and reinstate normality I think she said. Would you mind if I went?"

Gajeel sighed. He needed her to go, but he didn't want her to. It turned out to be lucky he did though, as Levy continued to try and persuade him. It probably would have been suspicious if he had just let her go.

"I should be okay. Mira _and_ Erza will be there if anyone attacks us, and Juvia is pretty fierce too. Elfman will be upstairs in case Evergreen needs him, anyway."

Gajeel nodded. It was an awful lot of strong mages, if anyone tried anything they wouldn't have a chance.

"Sure you can go, Shrimp. As long as it's what you really want to do."

He felt her pause for a few moments, deliberating her answer before nodding her head.

"Okay! Lu said she'd pick me up at six so we can make our way over there."

The Dragon inside of him stirred, but he placated it by placing his nose deep into her hair and inhaling her scent.

"I'll come with you. I don't want you two going over there on your own, not while you're in this state."

Levy sighed, struggling to sit herself up so she could look at him.

"Natsu's coming with us, and we're meeting up with Gray and Juvia before we get into town. I promise I'll phone you as soon as we get there?"

His Dragon was pacing now, but Gajeel used all his willpower to push it down. It would give him more time to prepare for tonight, anyway.

"Alright, Shrimp. Let's get you packed and ready."

Gajeel had systematically eaten all of the iron and the majority of the shadows in the house by the time Bickslow appeared at his door. He heard the Sieth jump over his gate and make his way up the driveway, and opened the door just as the other man was about to knock. He stood there with his fist in the air, before knocking the air in front of him three times.

He'd changed attire again, now wearing a tight black tank top and black jeans under a large black cape with a hood that covered his eyes. Gajeel didn't know what he was using as protection from his magic, but an eerie green glow shone from under the fabric that made Gajeel wary. In his arms he carried another cape, and shoved it under Gajeel's nose unceremoniously.

"What's that for?"

Bickslow threw the hood off his cape, revealing the same thick rimmed glasses from before. He grinned maniacally, and Gajeel wondered if he would even be in the right state of mind to carry out the mission ahead of them, He guessed he would just have to trust him.

"The soul shakes when it's scared, and when it's shaking it's much easier to detach it from it's host. The scarier we make ourselves look, the easier my job will be of ripping the bastards soul out."

Gajeel grinned up at the taller man, before letting his magic overcome him entirely. Black scales covered his skin, and shadows started to whip around him. Bickslow looked over him and nodded appreciatively, throwing the cape down on the floor and readjusting a large bag on his back. Gajeel groaned, picking up the discarded cape and handing it back to Bickslow, who shoved it unceremoniously into his bag with a huff. It wouldn't do for Levy to find it lying on the floor if she came back early.

"I need you to drop me off in the basement before you go get him. I still have some prep work to do."

Gajeel sneered, closing the door behind the Sieth and starting to shut off all the lights in the house.

"You haven't finished your preparations yet?"

Bickslow sneered right back, his glasses dropping dangerously low on his nose. Gajeel screwed his eyes closed, and waited for the Sieth to speak.

"There's some things I can only do in situ. You do your job, metal man, and I'll do mine. One more thing. Don't put a single mark on him. Don't let him mark himself either."

Gajeel crossed his arms, and looked pointedly at where he could hear Bickslow's heartbeat in front of him.

"And why's that?"

He heard Bickslow chuckle, and the soft thud as he leant against the wall.

"The Sieth magic doesn't leave a mark. They'll put the death down to shock, but you know that bastard will do anything to drag us down with him." The Sieth paused for a second, and chuckled again. "You can open your eyes, you know. I'm not going to take you over. You're too important for that."

Gajeel's eyes inched open, and although Bickslow's eyes were still glowing green the glasses were stopping the magic from taking effect.

"You ready to go then, Freak?"

Bickslow cackled, a look of pure joy crossing over his face. Gajeel was doing this out of necessity, but Bickslow? He seemed to be genuinely excited for this.

"How do I get into your shadows, then? Do you sweep me into your arms and whisk me away?"

Gajeel sighed heavily. He had had enough of Bickslow already and it had been less than five minutes. Grabbing a hold of the nape of Bickslow's neck he let the shadows overtake him and drag him down.

Lin sat in his cell, tapping his foot against the bed covers as he tried to pass the time. The guards had been kind enough to give him a sketchpad with some pencils, and he had been teaching himself how to draw. He shaped out some of the nightmares he had seen in his previous captives' minds, plotting out the colours in his own mind. Maybe if he was good the guards would let him have paint tomorrow. He sketched huge fires, ice covered demons, stars of pain shooting across his vision and an overbearing darkness that threatened to overcome everything there. He thought he saw a movement in the corner of his eye, and gave a quick glance around the room to try and see what it was. Shaking his head, putting it down to tiredness and possible insanity, he went back to his drawing. A few lines later he felt a man leaning over him, and he smiled.

"You know, I've been expecting you to turn up."

He didn't get a response, just a hand grasping his shoulder as he felt the now familiar pull down into the shadows. He let his notepad fall onto the bed and grinned to himself. This idiot was breaking him out, and he didn't even know it.

He gathered his bearings pretty early on in his journey, and knew that he was headed back home. Even better. This idiot Dragon Slayer was helping him more than he ever could have wished for. Fuck his previous plan, this was panning out perfectly. The man next to him was silent, and Lin didn't bother trying to initiate any conversation. There would be plenty of opportunity to talk later on when they got back to the house. He felt the rush of warm air as he was taken through the front door of his mansion, and through the secret entrance to the basement. Why were they coming down here? No matter. He groaned at the amount of destruction that had taken place on the way, that would have to be fixed as soon as he got out.

Gajeel deposited him on the cold stone floor of the basement, underneath the six rings where he had strung up the members of the Raijinshuu, just to the side of where he had attacked the Dragon Slayer's little girlfriend. He wondered if he knew.

Lin started to laugh to himself as Gajeel stood back, making his way to the edge of the room. The Dragon Slayer looked at the man, dressed in a white t-shirt and gray trackpants. He didn't look any worse for wear from his extended stay in prison, and the Dragon inside him wanted to knock the fucker out. He could hear Bickslow at the other side of the room, breathing steady and heart beating fast to give away his excitement, but the glow from his eyes had been completely covered so he was hidden from sight. Gajeel wondered what his plan was. The Sieth hadn't mentioned anything, and Gajeel hadn't wanted to ask.

"Gajeel Redfox. How nice of you to break me out, how is our friend Levy doing?"

A growl erupted from his throat without him wanting it to, and Lin just laughed at the sound. He didn't try to stand, just sat with his back against the wall grinning up at the Dragon Slayer. Gajeel wondered if he still thought he was going to be allowed to live. The grin turned into a sneer, and it made the hair on Gajeel's back prickle.

"I'm not afraid of you, you know."

Gajeel was about to open his mouth when Bickslow made his move. He walked ever so slowly out of the shadows, not making a sound until he opened his mouth to speak.

"That's okay. You don't need to be afraid of him."

Lin snapped his head to the side just as Bickslow threw his hood off, and their eyes met. Gajeel could smell Bickslow's magic taking over Lin instantaneously, and the sharp tinge of fear pour off the man. Why the fuck was he more afraid of Bickslow than him? Despite the scent of terror giving him away, Lin kept a straight face as he stared into the Sieth's eyes, and Gajeel wondered if he was able to move at all.

"Now now, Lin. What's with that brave face? I can feel your soul quiver with fear from here."

As he spoke he stepped closer to the man on the floor, in a display of intimidation that Gajeel wondered whether or not was an act. But he couldn't smell any lie on Bickslow's scent, even under all the cigarette smoke that had enveloped him. The Sieth knelt down in front of Lin, bringing their eyes level and his hand up to stroke his cheek almost lovingly. His voice dropped down to a whisper, and he leant close into his ear.

"It's intoxicating."

If Gajeel hadn't known better he would have said he heard a whimper coming from the man spread out on the floor. He looked remarkably young with his hair falling around his face, and Gajeel wondered if they were doing the right thing. As soon as doubt crossed his mind his Dragon roared in his cage. The bastard deserved this many times over for what he had done to Levy. Bickslow rocked back on his feet, standing back up again but keeping his eyes on the man. Both of their skins had started to glow green with Bickslow's magic energy now, and it was enough to light up the room. Gajeel was confused for a second, before realisation hit him. _Bickslow was playing with him_.

"Why are you so scared of little old me, when you could spit in the face of Gajeel over there? Is it because of what you saw when you were poking around in my head?" Bickslow was pacing the room now, the sound of his feet on the stone floor echoing around the walls. "Gajeel can hurt you physically, sure. He can break your bones one by one before ending your life forever. But I can do… oh so much worse, isn't that right Lin?"

Bickslow had returned to the man, resting one hand either side of his head and leaning in close so their noses touched and Gajeel couldn't discern which scent was stronger, the one of terror or the one of excitement.

"I can rip your soul from your body, and you've seen first hand just how much that hurts. I can make you beg for death. You've seen just how much agony my toys go through. I can make you experience a pain beyond any imagination, and I can do it so fucking easily as well. But that's not everything, is it Lin? You've felt what a fucking rush that feeling gives me. The euphoria that pumps through my veins as I take your soul into mine. You'll be experiencing the worst pain you've ever felt, and I'll be getting off on it."

Lin's fear grew along with Bickslow's excitement, and soon the two intermingled scents blocked out any other in the room as Gajeel stared on in fascination. It took a lot to creep him out, but this was definitely achieving it. Gajeel wondered why Lin didn't shy away, the fight or flight response should be kicking in by now, before realising that Bickslow was probably holding him still. He wondered if it was a mercy.

"Do you have anything to say in your defence, Lin Chasso? Any reason why I should let you live."

Lin's mouth opened and closed almost comically, and he babbled to try and find words. Gajeel wondered what had happened to the incredibly articulated man he had been the few times he had met him. He could see a grin spread across Bickslow's face, his tongue lolling out as he moved his hands to cradle Lin's head. He looked like he was about to kiss him, and Gajeel wouldn't have put it past him. Instead he placed their foreheads together, and spoke.

"No, I didn't think so."

A burst of magical energy shot through the room as it lit up green, and suddenly the walls rebounded with screams of agony. To Bickslow's credit he held still throughout the entire procedure, the most still Gajeel had ever seen him, as Lin's face twisted in anguish. The rest of his body remained glued still, hands still chained in cuffs in front of him and legs crossed as if he were a child. He smelt the excitement rushing through Bickslow's blood, the Sieth hadn't been lying, and tried to look away, but a morbid curiosity forced him to keep his eyes transfixed on the two men.

Without warning, Bickslow took a deep breath, releasing the man in front of him although Gajeel could smell that he was still alive. The Sieth grinned, rolling back up to his feet as Lin's head hung limply in front of him.

"Oh, silly me. I forgot to grab everything I needed. You will forgive me, won't you Lin?"

The telepath sobbed gently as Bickslow sauntered over to where his bag lay in the corner of the room. He scrabbled around inside it for a moment, before pulling out a spherical jar full of liquid. Gajeel recognised it as one of the jars his babies' souls had retreated into when Bickslow had been knocked out, and knew instantly what it was for. He carried it over to Lin, where he crouched down and uncorked it, setting it on the floor between them. From deep within his cape he produced a thick signet ring, and Lin's head slowly rose under Bickslow's command to look at it.

"I found this on a table in the other room. The Rune Knights must have left it. It was your father's ring, wasn't it? I remember you telling me as you used this" Bickslow indicated the large flat gold surface with an ornate _C_ carved into it "to beat me. Turns out you're still attached to it enough to use as an anchor for your soul. What do you think? Make a fitting anchor?"

Bickslow dropped the ring into the bottle, and spoke a spell under his breath until it began to pulse with its own magical energy. Lin's voice opened and closed without any sound, and Gajeel wondered if he was still capable of producing noise before he croaked out two words.

"Please, Bickslow…"

"Please, Bickslow!" Bickslow shouted the words back at him, slamming his fists either side of the man's head and making him flinch. "Please just do it! Please transfer my soul into him. I can't stand this anymore! I can't stand him hurting you!"

Gajeel smelt the salty tang of sadness, before once again it was gone and replaced by lust.

"Do you recognise those words? Do you? They're the words Lisanna screamed at me when you reopened this fucking scar across my chest. You know what else happened that moment? That moment was when I swore that no matter what happened, I would kill you, whether in this life or the next. And I always keep my fucking promises."

Another pulse of magic filled the room, and Gajeel's eyes once again locked onto the men in front of him as the green glow encompassed them both. This time he could smell the very essence that made up Lin getting weaker as his screams of pain grew weak, and after what seemed like hours Bickslow released Lin's lifeless body to the floor, and recorked the bottle of water in front of him. The water had turned the same purple colour that Gajeel remembered from the babies' soul bottles, and Bickslow held it up to his eyes and stared into the swirling water. Gajeel needed to break the silence somehow, and anyway a question had been weighing on his mind since he first saw the bottle.

"Haven't you just given him immortality?"

Bickslow chuckled, reaching up to throw his hood over his eyes again to ensure that he didn't accidentally take over the Dragon Slayer. His eyes were still well out of his control.

"Technically, yes. But it's not much of an existence. Why do you think my babies are never in their bottles?"

Gajeel let out a sigh, before sinking down to the floor. It was over. This bastard would never hurt Levy again. Now he just had to take Lin back to his cell, and then come up with a good cover story as to what they had been doing all night. The Rune Knights would question them, that's for sure. But for now he just allowed the relief to wash over him. Although, through his restfulness, and Bickslow's elation at what he had done, both of the men failed to notice that they were not alone until it was too late.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - this one is a bit early due to me being at comicon this weekend. As always huge thanks to everyone who reviews, along with Gajeelswoman for betaing and Kmmcm for being my blind tester and making me laugh/think with your theories. I love you both to the moon and back.


	67. Chapter 67

"So, it's done then?"

Both Gajeel and Bickslow's heads whipped around, staring at the corner of the room where the voice came from. Gajeel's scales rippled across his skin, and Bickslow immediately pulled his glasses off his eyes, ready to steal the soul of whoever interrupted him. Gajeel's eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly, and he could see who had spoken. The man was leaning against the wall, one leg rested up behind him with his knee bent and his one good eye closed. Bickslow cursed as he realised that his magic wasn't going to work as long as he kept his eyes closed. Along with his lack of babies, he was completely defenceless and he made sure to orient himself behind Gajeel, ready to run out of the basement if needed. Gajeel simply sighed, knowing Cobra well enough to know that he wasn't a threat.

"How long have you been down here?"

Cobra smirked as he pushed himself off the wall, walking towards the two men and using his heightened senses to guide him.

"Long enough."

Bickslow took a few steps towards him, planning on using the other man's lack of sight to his advantage. He wasn't particularly strong, but he was quick and he was agile. Maybe he could use that tactic. Shrugging his cape off as he went, he swung his left fist right at the man's face, curling his fingers the way Laxus taught him to as he put his whole body weight into the swing. The man in front of him moved as if his vision wasn't obstructed at all, leaning backwards before bringing his right arm around to grab Bickslow at the join where his neck met his skull. Bickslow froze in confusion for a second before poison started to inch across his skin and he screamed in pain. Instinct took over and in an attempt to free himself, Bickslow threw his left arm back again aiming his elbow at Cobra's stomach. The man dodged back seamlessly, bending at his waist so Bickslow's arm flailed harmlessly behind him before he took a step forward, bringing up his left knee to connect with Bickslow's face as his right hand added to the impact by forcing the taller man's head down at the same time. Bickslow grunted again, feeling his nose rebreak and blood start to flow down over his chin. As soon as Cobra's knee moved downwards Bickslow's tactics moved to evasion as he pushed both his legs backwards, landing heavily on his hands before kicking up with his feet to swing them up and over his head. As soon as he was fully inverted he started to spin on his left hand, kicking his right leg around to try and connect with the Dragon Slayer's face. Cobra ducked, thrusting his right hand forward to connect with Bickslow's stomach, but he had already continued with his movements and pushed himself back to his feet and started to run. He had gotten halfway up the steps before he hit something hard. Looking up he saw Gajeel, eyes clenched shut as he clasped Bickslow's glasses in front of him.

"You stay and finish this, Freak. He's not going to say a word to anyone."

Bickslow took the glasses off him, slipping them over his eyes before turning back to face the poison Dragon Slayer where he stood in the centre of the room.

"Fine. Eyes are neutralised. But you. Talk. Why are you here?"

Cobra peeked his remaining eye open, and Bickslow sneered at how quickly he had trusted him. The Dragon Slayer looked over at Lin's body, obviously able to smell that he was dead just as well as Gajeel did.

"I was coming to kill him. Figured this would be a good place to start looking for him. And then surprise surprise, I find you two here ruining it."

Bickslow snarled, and Cobra returned it with one of his own. The two men squared up against each other, Bickslow using his added height to gain at least a little advantage. If he could use what he learnt from Laxus' habits as a Dragon Slayer here, he would be sure to win.

"I've done it in a way we'd never be discovered. One dragon is hard enough to deal with, but two? You'd have ruined it."

Cobra scoffed, his own Dragon not allowing him to look away and admit defeat.

"I am a wanted criminal, in a dark guild. Who would even give a fuck if I killed him?"

Gajeel coughed but knew that neither of the men would look over to him.

"If he dies at the hands of a known criminal, he dies a martyr. An innocent in all this, cut down in his prime by a dark guild. But this way? Bickslow says they'd assume he died of shock. His heart gave out. And we have a much easier job of proving him guilty."

Bickslow looked down at Cobra with a smug grin, jumping on Gajeel's explanation as if he had come up with it himself. Cobra's Dragon rose up, knowing it was losing this fight.

"It would still have been nice to have an invitation. What gave you guys the right out of everyone to decide that he was going to die?"

Bickslow rose up to his full height, trying to tower over the man as much as he could as his skin started to glow green and his fists clenched at his sides. His voice shook in anger as he stared the Dragon Slayer in the eyes, wishing not for the first time that his magic was able to be used through the glass.

"I had a right to kill him more than anyone else. Neither of you was down here! You don't know what it was like!"

Cobra moved faster than Bickslow could have anticipated, pushing Bickslow to the ground and straddling him within seconds. The Sieth mage's head bounced against the floor, and he suddenly missed his mask as it sent vibrations through his scalp and pain shooting across his vision.

"I WAS DOWN HERE. YOU TORE MY FUCKING MAGIC FROM MY BODY!"

Hands spread across Bickslow's face, and poison spread across his skin. Cobra knew how much it was burning him, but it reminded him of something else and the anger boiled over even hotter. His voice dropped down to a low growl that made Gajeel clench his fists to control the Dragon inside of him. Maybe Bickslow had actually been right, having two fully charged dragons down here was dangerous.

"He used my magic on my Kinana."

Bickslow gritted his teeth against the pain that was stabbing into his face where the acid from Cobra's hands was pooling.

"Oh really? You know who was forced to put his friend's through all that pain? Me. He made me do that. That's why I had to kill him."

Cobra used Bickslow's face to push himself up to sit back on his legs, snarling as he did. Gajeel stayed back, torn between going in to save his guildmate and keeping away from the danger of his dragon taking control. The other dragon slayer was still pushing the Sieth down by the waist to stop him from getting up and spat out his words.

"Keep up with that shit all you fucking want, Bickslow. I know full well that you are doing this for the fun. I can hear your thoughts."

The Sieth kept eye contact with the man on his legs before he erupted into laughter. Cobra cocked his head in confusion, and Gajeel almost felt sorry for him. He hadn't had to experience Bickslow even when he wasn't in this kind of mood.

"Well, if you can hear my thoughts, why are we even having this conversation?"

Cobra sighed, but Bickslow kept laughing, tongue flopping out of his mouth as he did.

"Because you can't hear my thoughts you fucking idiot."

Bickslow's laughter stopped almost instantaneously, and Gajeel smelt waves of caution coming from Cobra. His Dragon had gone on the defensive, and Gajeel would bet it was because he had no idea what the Sieth was going to do next.

"You can hear thoughts, huh?"

Bickslow took a deep breath, before starting to sing. It was so loud and out of tune that even Gajeel had to cover his ears, and Cobra fell to the side, screaming as he clawed at his ears. As soon as his weight fell off Bickslow he scrambled to his feet, continuing to wail as he stepped away from the Dragon Slayer on the floor. Gajeel shook his head, knowing he wasn't going to get far from here and walked over to where Lin's body lay. Crouching down he grabbed the corpse in his arms and dragged him down into the shadows, preparing to take him back to the cell. Hopefully by the time he got back one of the idiots he left in the basement would be dead.

* * *

Gajeel had carried corpses before, but never through the shadows. The darkness itself seemed to whip around Lin's dead body and try to drag it away, and the Dragon Slayer struggled to keep a firm hold on it. He made a mental note to ask Rogue about it later on, before realising that he probably didn't wanna explain to the kid why he was carrying a dead body around. Lin had been around the same size as him, and although he wasn't too heavy to carry his shape was bulky and awkward. The journey back to the prison felt much longer as it had been earlier, and he was genuinely relieved when he managed to sneak past all of the guards and into the prison cell. It had been worryingly easy, and Gajeel wondered just what had been going through the council's mind to make them think that he wasn't a risk to everyone around him. He rematerialised in the cell, throwing Lin's corpse down onto the bed and getting to work.

The scales covering his fingers took care of any fingerprints he may have left behind, and he picked up the sketchbook Lin had been drawing in before taking it over to the desk. The man had been meticulous in life, and Gajeel couldn't have imagined him just leaving the book on the floor when he went to bed. A part of him was intrigued at what he had been drawing but didn't want to waste any more time. It was only just after midnight, but he still wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

He made his way back over to Lin, adjusting the body so he could cover him in blankets, making him look like he had died in the night. Lin's mouth had closed as they had travelled over, and Gajeel opened it slightly as if he had been struggling for his last breath. The Dragon Slayer had seen enough dead bodies to know what they were supposed to look like. He looked into the dead man's eyes, they had been dark before but now that they had dulled Gajeel was sure if he had been human he would have perceived them as black. As his dragon regarded them it let out a sigh of relief, finally satiated that the man who had crossed it was dead. Even if it hadn't done it itself, there was no way this bastard was ever going to be hurting Levy again. Gajeel leant over, closing the man's eyes as if he had been asleep when he had passed away. With one last look at the body in front of him, he fell backwards into the shadows.

* * *

Bickslow took the opportunity of Cobra recovering from his, quite frankly genius attack, to walk across the room, rubbing at the burns that were starting to appear on his face. The pain cut through his mind, clarifying it somewhat and focusing his thoughts on what he wanted to do. Gajeel was gone, and he'd have to wait until he got back to head back home. He looked up at the ceiling, eyeing up the beams that crisscrossed the top of the room and calculated quickly. Yeah, he could do that. Starting to run he hit the wall at full sprint, taking a few steps up it before he twisted in mid-air, grabbing a hold of one of the beams with his hands. Using his momentum he swung his legs up, hooking them over the wood and locking them, allowing him to hang upside down facing where Cobra was just getting up. He swung a little as he dug in his pocket for a cigarette, clamping it between his lips before lighting it up. Cobra grimaced as he stared at the smoke, and leant his back against the wall as far away as he could from it.

"Eurgh. Did no one ever teach you not to smoke those things around Dragon Slayers? They're obnoxious."

Bickslow shrugged, exhaling all the smoke from his lungs as he started to swing back and forth on his perch, closing his eyes to the world.

"Laxus smokes. Figured if he could put up with it, so could you."

Cobra frowned, shaking his head as he debated whether or not to leave. No. Not yet. He wanted to see where this would go. He allowed his senses to flow through the empty house, listening to the whistle of the wind outside and the creaking of the old house. He tried to keep out of the mind of the other man in the room out of politeness, but in the end curiosity and boredom got the best of him.

His hearing zoned in on the thoughts of the other man, underneath the rustling of his clothes and the steady beating of his heart. He heard the deep voice that Bickslow thought in, different than his normal voice but still with the unmistakable cadence that the Sieth had, but he heard it fragmented six times. Along with his voice were a multitude of others, all talking over each other and weaving a chaotic clatter of words in a way that prevented Cobra from discerning any individual sentence. Cobra listened for a few moments until it all became too much and he had to pull out. He stared at the man, looking perfectly calm despite the clamour in his head, as he swung backwards and forward smoking his cigarette. Cobra had never heard anything like it before, and he ran through theories of just _what it was_. His ears still picked up the voices, quieter than before now he had stopped concentrating on them, but they halted as soon as he spoke, leaving Bickslow's thought process alone.

"Okay, I bite. What the fuck is up with your head?"

Bickslow cut his connection back home to the babies as soon as they had the chance to work out where he was. He couldn't risk them mentioning anything to Lisanna. Now he knew that his kitten was okay he could let them go back to playing with her anyway. He allowed a grin to spread across his face, sticking his tongue out as he did.

"Oooh, kinky. You're a biter? I mean, I always guessed the snake girl probably would be, but never thought about you."

He watched Cobra's eye narrow in frustration, a growl starting to emanate from his throat. Bickslow watched as Cobra's dark purple soul started to pulse through the lighter maroon soul as his Dragon got angrier and angrier, and Bickslow grinned at this new indication of just how much he was annoying him.

"I will kill you. Just because you killed Lin doesn't mean you're untouchable."

Bickslow took another drag from his cigarette, holding the smoke in his lungs for a moment before sticking his tongue out again.

"Did you legitimately just growl at me? It's not like I actually want to know firsthand whether she's into that or not."

Another intake of breath and Bickslow tapped his cigarette out onto the floor. Smoking upside down wasn't a new experience, but it always made him giggle. It was just so much easier, he didn't know why more people didn't do it. Cobra opened his mouth to speak, but Bickslow got there before he could make a sound.

"I mean if she offered I wouldn't say no…"

He couldn't finish his sentence before Cobra was across the room, hands wrapping around his throat where it hung just in front of his face. Bickslow coughed as his air was cut off, but ended up laughing at his own joke and the scales that he had caused to erupt from Cobra's skin digging into his neck. The man had forced his eyes shut as his hands constricted, but now Bickslow knew his weakness. He let the babies voices and thoughts fill his mind, just on a one-way basis so they wouldn't panic at what was going on. Blowing the last of his smoke out of his lungs he laughed again and allowed his instinct to take over.

His hands grabbed a hold of Cobra's, trying to tug them away from his neck before realising that the other man was much stronger. Oh well. He pulled his legs up, unhinging them from their support on the beam and using the momentum to swing himself up and over Cobra's back. The Dragon Slayer saw what was happening, and tried to pull his hands away before they were stopped by the death grip that the Sieth had on them. As soon as Bickslow's full weight landed on him it snapped his arms backwards and over his head as his knees gave way and the two of them crumpled to the floor. His Dragon kicked into survival mode, keeping a hold of the man's hands now Cobra's grip on his throat had given up and beginning to twist so he could get on top again. Bickslow was flexible and fast, but Cobra had the added strength and anger to use it. As soon as he found himself back on top of the Sieth he leant forward, this time using his forearm to try and crush his throat. The man's insufferable laughing returned, this time interspersed with stuttering breaths and he wondered why Bickslow's will to survive wasn't kicking in at all. It was then an elbow slammed heavily into his solar plexus, causing a sickening crunch as the bone broke and he was forced to roll off to the side. Bickslow jumped to his feet, the two men coughing in harmony as they both struggled for their next breath. Bickslow was horrendously burnt and Cobra was clinging onto his injured chest, but they both just eyed each other wearily.

"Are you two fucking done? We need to get out of here."

Bickslow grinned through his pain, pulling himself up to full height to look at the shadows where Gajeel was about to materialise. There were now two Dragons to mess with, and the adrenaline running through his veins was just too addictive. He needed more.

"So, Gajeel. I had a question. Is the whole kinky sex a Dragon Slayer thing? Cause I know Laxus is into it, and I just found out that Cobra here…"

He was interrupted by a growl and decided to just let the sentence hang there. It was funnier that way, anyway.

"Really, Bickslow? We just killed a man."

Bickslow grinned, moving his way over to Gajeel as Cobra began to recover. The Iron Dragon Slayer had fully rematerialised now, and Bickslow huffed as he realised that his Dragon soul had sunk right down and the human was in control. Never mind. The Poison Dragon Slayer was close enough to losing it for this still to be fun.

"What do you mean, we? I'm pretty sure I did all the work there and I'm not losing any sleep over it. I'm pretty sure thisssss man isn't either."

Gajeel sighed. He could see what Bickslow was doing now, and he really didn't have the energy to deal with it.

"Fucking hell, Bickslow. You know what? I think that you get off on this."

An evil smirk crossed Bickslow's face, and he winked under the glasses that were keeping the two other men in the room safe.

"A gentleman never tells. But, as I'm not a gentleman I feel fine in telling you that I have the biggest boner right now."

Bickslow burst into laughter again, but Gajeel's head whipped to the side as Cobra growled. He could tell that the other Dragon was angry, and the way Bickslow was behaving wasn't going to help. Even though he didn't much care for the Sieth, he didn't want to actually see him get killed. That would make it painfully obvious to Levy what had happened. He grabbed Bickslow's cape where it was pooling at his feet, before seizing the man's shoulder and starting to drag him into the shadows.

"Cobra. I'm taking him out of here. You calm down and get out of here too. I'll find you once everything has calmed down. Don't do anything stupid. Think of Kinana."

The Dragon roared at the sound of his mate's name, and a poisonous gas seeped from every single pore in his body but Gajeel was already gone. Turning his body to the side he slammed a fist through the wall. The stupid fucking Sieth would pay.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - As always, many thanks to Gajeelswoman for betaing this for me, and Kmmcm for being my blind tester and main theory provider.
> 
> This arc is taking slightly longer than expected, but just a friendly neighbourhood reminder that this story will be going on a semi-hiatus at the end of this arc and I will be writing a collaboration with Gajeelswoman, so keep an eye out for that!


	68. Chapter 68

Bickslow was literally bouncing in excitement when Gajeel brought the two of them out of the shadows in the corridor outside the apartment that he knew Freed and Bickslow shared. He'd asked the Sieth whether he wanted to go there or to his new apartment that he lived in on his own, and he hadn't missed a beat before saying he wanted to go back to Freed. Gajeel didn't blame him. He wouldn't want to be alone right now, either. The Sieth bounced on the balls of his feet, but didn't head towards the door. Gajeel couldn't smell Freed in the apartment at all, probably some sort of protection that the Rune Mage had put up, and he didn't want to pop up right in front of him and give the game away. Bickslow turned towards him, still fidgeting and Gajeel could still smell the adrenaline pumping through his veins. It seemed like he wasn't going to come down from this high for a while.

"Reckon I could sneak into the girls' place to bang Lissy and get back out before Mira notices?"

Gajeel sighed. Killing Lin, for him at least, had been a necessity but Bickslow was enjoying it a little too much. The Dragon Slayer knew that if Levy ever found out what he had done she would kill him. That Bickslow would even risk it…

"This isn't even a joke anymore, Bickslow."

The Sieth was still bouncing in place and took a few steps towards Gajeel. He could smell that he wasn't scared at all, still the same buzz lighting up his veins.

"C'mon, man. With the two of us, it'd be fucking child's play and we could get you in with Levy too. I got spies in there, they'll…"

"Bickslow. I'm serious."

A growl escaped from Gajeel's throat as his Dragon began to anger again. He would have thought the death of Lin would have satiated it for a while longer, but it appeared that Bickslow was trying his absolute best to ruin that for him. A grin spread across the Sieth's face, apparent that Gajeel's threat hadn't done anything at all.

"What? So am I."

Gajeel had had enough. He closed the gap between him and the Sieth, grabbing his throat where it was still bruised from Cobra's attention earlier in the night and slamming him up against the wall. If he was expecting fear he was disappointed, as the scent of adrenaline filled his nose, only tinted slightly by blood as Gajeel's nails scraped across the burns and opened the skin across his neck easily, and Bickslow began to laugh.

"Look, Gajeel. I guess you're attractive for a dude but I really don't fuck guys, really not my…"

The Dragon growled, cutting off Bickslow's words but yet again the Sieth didn't even care. He didn't miss a beat as he changed his train of thought, dropping his tongue out of his mouth as he carried on teasing him.

"Wow, you Dragon Slayers really are kinky as fuck."

Gajeel slammed his head against the wall, and for the second time that night Bickslow regretted not having his mask on as the pain shot stars across his vision. His glasses slipped slightly, maybe if the Dragon Slayer kept doing that they would fall low enough for him to take control…

"We're going to your apartment."

Bickslow tipped his head back to laugh, cursing to himself that it pushed the glasses back over his eyes more completely but deciding soon after that he didn't really care.

"Ooh, forward. I like it. Maybe I will fuck you after all, but I'm on top."

Time seemed to slow as Gajeel's dragon took over. Here was this little human who, as far as the Dragon was concerned, belonged to another, inferior dragon and he was daring to square up against the Iron Dragon? He could smell the man's excitement, the stupid, insignificant creature didn't even have the intelligence to be scared. Both heartbeats thumped in unison, and Gajeel drew a fist back to slam it into his face before something crashed behind him.

The Dragon dropped the man to the ground as he spun around, and Gajeel took in the sight of Freed sat reading on his sofa, one arm slung out to open the door with some kind of magic. The Dragon was startled, and Gajeel managed to wrestle control back from it as Freed spoke.

"Do you two want to shut the fuck up before someone hears you?"

Gajeel sighed. It was a good point, the two of them were arguing in public although they hadn't specifically said that they had just committed a murder. Nevertheless, Gajeel chastised himself. He was getting sloppy. Turning back around to Bickslow, frozen in the same position with his tongue hanging out and indicated the now open door with his thumb.

"See? There's your apartment. Was that really that hard?"

Bickslow reached out, grabbing Gajeel's chin and forcing him to look back at him before he turned as he spoke.

"You know what is really hard?"

Gajeel snapped his hand forward, smashing Bickslow's nose and feeling the already broken bones move again. He heard the lenses in his glasses smash, and made sure to instantly turn around so he couldn't get caught in the other man's stare. Heading into the apartment with Freed the rune mage didn't even stand up, and Gajeel ran through what he could say to explain just why he had been arguing with Bickslow outside of the apartment. Before he could speak he felt Bickslow walk in behind him, and steeled himself for a fight before the Sieth just grabbed a discarded metal mask off the table and slipped it over his eyes, replacing the broken glasses.

"So, he's dead then?"

Gajeel froze, staring at Freed where he remained on the sofa, head still buried in a book that Gajeel knew he wouldn't have a chance of understanding. His right eye was still bandaged over, and Gajeel wondered why the Raijinshuu were severely lacking in the amount of magical healing they'd received. He looked up at Bickslow, who was heading over to the kitchen. The change in his persona was shocking, shoulders slumped forward as he nearly skulked through the apartment. Freed finally looked up, watching the Dragon Slayer before scoffing.

"What? You think that you are the only person who can tell where a person has been? Do you need me to go and clean up?"

Bickslow had picked up a bottle of whisky and grabbed a new packet of cigarettes from the tallest shelf in one of the cupboards before turning around and leaning back against the counter.

"What do you think I am, a fucking amateur? You think I've lost my touch?"

As soon as he finished speaking he pulled a cigarette out of the packet with his teeth, lighting it again as Freed sighed to himself.

"Bickslow! What have I told you about smoking in here, I fucking hate the smell."

Bickslow scoffed, pushing off from the counter as he shoved the packet of cigarettes back in his pocket and headed across the apartment. His face was still covered in burns and blood, and Gajeel wondered whether he was going to do anything about it as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"You don't give two fucks when it's Laxus. Plus, I'm going to my room."

Freed turned around on the sofa, staring at the Sieth's back as he opened a door and disappeared inside with his whisky.

"That doesn't make any fucking difference, the smell still…"

His voice was cut off by Bickslow slamming the door behind him, and he turned around and returned to his book in front of him. Gajeel shook his head, finally getting over the almost domestic way the two men had discussed the recent murder of one of their enemies.

"What the fuck is wrong with you two!?"

Freed shrugged, picking up a bottle of beer that was on the table in front of him and offering it to Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer thought for a moment, before realising that he may as well stay a little longer, plus with Lily out of the house for the night he didn't fancy going back home alone. Fuck, being at Fairy Tail had changed him. The company of half the Raijinshuu was better than the company of no one at all. Sitting down on the sofa opposite Freed he picked up the beer as Freed placed his book down onto the table.

"Did he tell you we were going to kill Lin?"

The rune mage shook his head, crossing one leg over the other as he looked at the Dragon Slayer.

"No. But for my sins, I know Bickslow. I knew that he wasn't going to just let this go. When Mira told me that they were having a sleepover, and then Bickslow wasn't here I knew where he had gone. The tracking rune helped, too."

Gajeel stared at the other man. He had never really spent time with them outside of the guildhall and it was only the few times before Lin had attacked the guild he had really hung around with them inside it either. They had always struck him as fiercely secretive, so it was off that Freed was now talking to him. Maybe it was in fear that Gajeel would tell others what they had done, or just in gratitude that he had helped Bickslow out. The man's scent was completely unreadable, and Gajeel wondered whether it was some sort of rune magic he had used to protect himself. He could have been with them all along and Gajeel would never have known. Nevertheless, he knew it would be a rare opportunity to gather information and if Levy had taught him anything it was that knowledge is power.

"You knew he was going to do it and you didn't come and help us?"

Freed shrugged. He thought his position around the guild had been made abundantly clear even to a relatively new member such as Gajeel.

"I prefer not to get my hands dirty."

Gajeel scoffed, he had heard about Freed's preference for intelligence gathering and using Bickslow and Evergreen to do all of the fighting unless it was completely necessary but he had assumed that he had changed.

"You really are a rat, aren't you Freed?"

The Rune mage didn't look offended, and Gajeel supposed that he had heard it many times before.

"And yet you still come to me for information. How's that working out for you?"

Gajeel paused. Of course, the other man had realised that he was being plied for information, he spent most of his time getting information for his own team. But it appeared that he was willing to give information back, for whatever reason.

"So… has he done this before?"

Freed grinned, folding his hands on his lap as if he was currently at an appointment with royalty rather than having a conversation with one of his guild members.

"Not for a while. The last time was about a month before Tenrou Island. A dark guild had hurt Evergreen pretty bad and we'd had to run away from the battle so she could be healed. Bickslow snuck out at some point while I was seeing to her, and came back in the middle of the night with 47 new jars full of souls. The news that the dark guild had been wiped out made it to us the next day. He's not as stupid as he portrays himself, Gajeel. He's more powerful than he lets on."

The Dragon Slayer nodded. He had seen Bickslow's magic close up that evening, along with watching him fight seriously on Tenrou Island. He was a very different man to the one he was used to jumping around the guild and causing havoc.

"What does he do with all those souls?"

Freed shrugged again. It was apparent to Gajeel that there was still secrets between the teammates, and wondered just how that worked in practice. After all, after tonight he was going to be keeping a pretty big secret away from Levy.

"I don't know. He never fights with them, he says he needs cooperation in order to fight effectively and he can't have that with enemy souls. Believe it or not, he and his babies are a well-oiled machine. He trusts them, and they trust him. He either lets them go, or he has them all holed up somewhere I haven't found yet."

Freed sighed, leaning forward to rest his head in his hands before he continued.

"The thing you have to understand about Bickslow is that he wears his heart on his sleeve more than anyone else I have ever met. Most of the time he's happy and carefree, and that's the thing that everyone sees as he's swinging about the guild and causing chaos. But when he's upset, he's utterly dejected. And when he's angry, he's inflamed. And he despises weakness. Lin exploited all of his weaknesses and in front of Lisanna no less. He was always going to get revenge. People say he's crazy, but they don't know the half of it. His mind doesn't work on the same level as ours."

Gajeel could smell sadness running through the other man's veins as whatever spell he was using broke off, and he suddenly realised why he was talking. Bickslow had told him earlier in the day that Freed had started to crack under the pressure of Mira's problems on top of his own and maybe he just needed someone to talk to. And Gajeel just happened to be there when he needed it. It wasn't a traditional way to show weakness, sure, but that was exactly what Freed was doing. He must have been really shaken up to show such weakness to someone outside his team.

"Why didn't you try and stop him? I thought all of you had changed since you tried taking over the guild?"

Freed smiled slightly, and Gajeel realised that it was a stupid question. Maybe Freed had wanted the man dead just as much as he and Bickslow had. But if the other man had thought it was a ridiculous query he didn't mention it.

"Because he's never stopped me. That's the thing about the Raijinshuu. We all have an inherent darkness inside of us, it keeps us together more than anything else ever could. It comes with our magic, we can't change it as much as Mira can change her demons or you can change being a Dragon Slayer. Master knows about it, but let us into Fairy Tail despite it. Something that I feel you understand as well as us, Gajeel."

Gajeel nodded. He understood. The master of Fairy Tail had given him another chance, it would make sense that he would give the Raijinshuu a chance too, despite the nature of their magic.

"Does he know? About your… activities?"

He couldn't bring himself to call them murders. He didn't see Lin's death as murder, and he didn't know the circumstances of any of the others. Freed sat back against the sofa again, looking the Dragon Slayer in the eye.

"If he does, he doesn't mention it. Now, did you want to stay here for the night?"

Gajeel sighed. He still didn't want to go home, not back to an empty house. Freed nodded, knowing the answer without Gajeel even having to speak as he stood up.

"You can stay in my bed, I'll sleep with Bickslow tonight."

Gajeel knew there was a joke in that, but he knew it wasn't the time to make it. He stood up with Freed, following him to another door as they both said goodnight to each other.

* * *

The room was large, obsessively tidy, and smelt of Freed and Mira in equal parts, with the tiniest scent of Bickslow as well. The Sieth must sleep in there occasionally. He noticed that the bed was pushed against the wall that was shared with Bickslow's room and wondered why as he sat down on it and removed his shoes. He could hear Bickslow sucking on his cigarette as he pulled his shirt over his head, and settled down in the bed.

Freed was still moving around the apartment, and Gajeel listened as he knocked softly on Bickslow's door, before letting himself in. His voice was muffled through the wall, but Gajeel could still hear it clearly.

"I've got some ointment for those burns, and I can have a look at your nose if you want."

There was no answer, but he heard Freed sit down on the bed and open a bottle before the soft dabbing sound it made on Bickslow's face as the Sieth hissed in pain.

"You promised me you would tell me before you did anything like this again, Bickslow."

Gajeel heard a heavy sigh, along with a thump as Bickslow hit his head against the wall separating the two beds. He heard what sounded like a bandage being wound around something, before realising it was probably for Bickslow's nose.

"This is the last one, Freed. I'm not killing anymore. Not with Lisanna around. A soul like hers doesn't deserve to be tainted by what mine is doing."

Freed smirked, and Gajeel heard him place the bottle of ointment down on the side of the bed before the mattress squeaked as the two men adjusted. Gajeel wondered what kind of position they slept in.

"You know full well that's a lie, Bickslow. If anything now you have Lisanna you're just going to get worse."

The Sieth's reply was almost too quiet for even Gajeel to hear.

"I know."

There was no more talking from the other room, and Gajeel tried to ignore the occasional sobs that drifted through the wall as he dozed off to sleep.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Chapter 70! I can't believe this fanfic has gotten this long! Thank you to everyone who has been with me along with this journey, and especially to my wonderful Gajeelswoman and Kmmcm.


	69. Chapter 69

Gajeel didn't end up sleeping that night. The first scream that was emitted from the room next to him he was on his feet in seconds, until he heard soft singing and a soothing voice lulling Bickslow back off to sleep. The Sieth appeared to wake from terrors every hour or so, and it led to very patchy sleeping for the Dragon Slayer.

He was already awake when he heard Freed walking around the apartment, cooking breakfast for himself. He sat up, stretching his aching muscles and began to get himself dressed. He was just pulling on his shirt when the rune mage came into the room, carrying a bacon sandwich and a cup of coffee.

To say Freed looked worse for wear would have been an understatement. He was wearing a black tank top and what was obviously pyjama bottoms, his hair messy and drawn back into a pony tail. His face was covered in scratches and bruises, and a particularly large gouge down the top of his arm was still bleeding. He placed the food down on a cupboard before turning to leave.

"I didn't know if you wanted breakfast."

When he turned Gajeel could see the back of his shirt had been ripped open, and grabbing the food the Dragon Slayer followed him out into the main apartment. Chancing a glance to his left he could see Bickslow still asleep in his room, arms thrown out across the bed as his eyes were wound tightly with bandages. Freed noticed the questioning look on the other man's face, and spoke quietly as he picked up his own mug of coffee.

"Bickslow get night terrors. They can be a bit… violent at times. And his eyes are out of control."

Gajeel nodded picking up his sandwich and taking a bite. It was good, much better than Gajeel would have guessed the other man could make. Swallowing the first mouthful down he sat back, staring Freed in the one eye that wasn't bandaged.

"Why don't you use one of those calming ecritures you used on Levy?"

Freed exhaled slowly, smiling slightly as he did.

"They lose their effectiveness over time. Bickslow became completely immune to them a long time ago."

Gajeel didn't know what to say, eating the rest of his sandwich in silence before finishing off his coffee, despite it being too hot and not sugared enough for his taste. He stood to leave, not feeling like he owed Freed anything before the shorter man grabbed his arm.

Gajeel's dragon swung his arm out but Freed dodged it expertly and held up a small bag. Whatever rune the man had used the night before to block his scent it was back in action, and Gajeel couldn't read him at all. Opening the bag slowly he looked inside, seeing what must have been a hundred chips, coins used mainly for betting when you didn't want to use real jewel.

"The fuck is this?"

Freed smiled, going to pick up the dirty dishes that Gajeel had left to wash them up in the sink.

"Betting chips. But you already knew that. They're your alibi. You were here betting with us yesterday evening, while the girls were at their sleepover. Bickslow picked you up at ten, and you spent the night with us. I'll make sure Bickslow knows the story as soon as he wakes up."

Gajeel looked down at the bag of coins in his hand. It was very nearly the truth, and that was the best kind of lie to get away with. Freed was obviously good at this. He nodded at the man in thanks, who simply returned the gesture before Gajeel walked out to head home.

* * *

 

He could smell her before he even got to the end of his road. What the fuck was she doing here? Add to that the salty tang of tears and he needed to be in his house immediately. Breaking into a sprint he got to his door faster than he thought possible, not even bothering to unlock it before he barrelled through it, skidding to a stop in his living room as he looked at Levy.

She was sat on his chair, still dressed in the pyjamas she had taken to the sleepover the night before. Her knees were hugged up to her chest as she looked up at him, a small smile spreading across her face as he dropped his bag onto the floor and came to sweep her up in his arms. She buried her head in his chest, sniffling slightly before she spoke.

"He's dead, Gajeel."

Gajeel's Dragon rose up in his chest. Why was she crying? This was a good thing! Gajeel fought him down, this was not the time. He had to feign ignorance.

"Who's dead, Levy?"

Levy pulled away from his chest, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes as she did.

"Lin. The Rune Knights came to Mira's place and told us. He died from a heart attack in the night. They told us we all needed to go home before they question all of us."

Gajeel struggled not to let out a sigh of relief. If they suspected Levy they never would have let her leave their sight.

"Do you know what happened to him?"

Gajeel froze at Levy's question, her voice light on the surface but carrying an awful lot of weight behind the words. How was he supposed to answer this?

"I didn't touch him if that's what you mean."

Levy's eyes narrowed, and Gajeel knew he had misspoken. Levy wasn't the council. She was astute. She could pick things up.

"That's not what I asked, Gajeel."

He couldn't show panic. He had to stay calm. She couldn't find out. A little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone, would it?

"No. I don't know what happened to him."

An alarm blared around him as the rune trap he had stepped into activated, showing Levy the lie he had just told. Her face fell as she pulled away from him, and he stood up to cover his ears from the deafening noise.

"What the fuck, Levy!? Do you not trust me?"

Her voice was quiet as she curled up in his chair, one hand waving the alarm away. At least it was only the two of them in there.

"I wanted to. Gods fucking know I wanted to. But I needed to make sure."

Gajeel growled, turning around and tugging at his hair. All of the effort he had gone to to make sure she didn't find out, and it was all for nothing.

"I didn't kill him. Bickslow needed help getting in and out of the jail cell so I helped him with that."

Levy sat up, leaning forward in the chair as she spoke to his back.

"That's aiding and abetting, Gajeel."

Gajeel growled. He didn't want this. He didn't want any of this.

"It's helping out a friend. I thought that's what we did in Fairy Tail."

"Not when that friend is killing someone!"

Levy stood to her feet, clenching her left fist as her other arm just hung in its sling. Gajeel didn't even turn around, he couldn't bear to look at her.

"Bickslow was going to do it whether I helped him or not. I just made it so he'd never get caught."

Levy scoffed. Like that was an excuse.

"Oh yeah? Did you even try to stop him?" She was met with complete silence, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah. Thought not."

Gajeel spun then, looking at her straight on as he clenched his own fists. She looked back up to him in defiance and somewhere deep inside he was incredibly proud.

"Yeah? Well, why the fuck do you care if he's dead, Levy? Can you even fucking remember what he did?"

"Was what he did even that much worse than what you did to us?"

Gajeel froze, but she kept on going.

"Everyone deserves a chance at redemption, Gajeel!" her voice was raised then, and she swore internally as her voice cracked. That ruined the damn emphasis. "I thought you of all people would know that."

Gajeel took a step closer to her but she didn't back down. When he spoke it was through gritted teeth, lower than it had been before.

"I did it because of you. For everything he did to you. For the torture, the pain your in right now. He didn't deserve a shot at redemption."

Levy crossed her good arm over her injured one, spitting out her words as she looked up into his eyes.

"Like all the pain _you_  cause me? What, in the entirety of the time you have known me ever made you think I wanted this? This wasn't for me! This was all for you."

Gajeel shouted then, raising his voice to her for the first time ever and something in the air shifted. There was no turning back now, for either of them.

"You accepted me, Levy! You accepted me for who I was! I've never hidden a fucking thing from you. You didn't turn away from me when I said I could hurt you. You didn't turn away when I said how violent the Dragon could be. How can you turn away when I've done this to protect you?"

"Because I thought you'd changed!"

Her screaming stopped him in his tracks, but only for a second. His Dragon slammed against his cage inside him, dying to be let out. No matter how much she meant to him she was still challenging his authority, and he liked being the leader of his nest. The action gave Gajeel his next argument, though, and he didn't bother pushing it back down.

"Changed!? I have the soul of a vicious beast that takes control of my body! I HAVE changed, Levy, otherwise I wouldn't be in Fairy Tail. Are you so short sighted you forgot what I was like?"

Shadows started to whip around him, but Levy didn't run. She wouldn't back down from this fight. She drew herself to her full height, pathetic against the man in front of her but it made her intentions clear.

"We both know this wasn't the work of the Dragon, Gajeel. If the Dragon had anything to do with it Lin would have been in pieces. The Dragon destroyed the guildhall, the Dragon strung me up against that tree, but this? This was all you. All Gajeel Redfox."

Gajeel screamed, picking up the coffee table in front of him and throwing it across the room. Levy realised it was best to leave, and Gajeel bellowed at her back.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

Levy headed past him, towards the door.

"Away from you. I don't know who you are anymore."

Gajeel grabbed at her still broken arm and she hissed in pain. He replied with a growl, through teeth that looked even sharper than normal.

"You don't get to walk away from this, Levy."

Her left hand moved quickly, writing in the air before sending freezing cold water towards him. It was a poorly written spell and had barely any power but it had the right effect as he let go of her and reeled back.

"Oh yeah? Fucking watch me, Redfox."

Levy was out the door in a flash. It was the first time she'd even attempted to use magic since Lin, and it had taken more out of her than she would ever care to admit. She stormed down the path in anger and tried to ignore the roar of anguish that followed her once she reached the bottom of the path.


	70. Chapter 70

Levy managed to hold it in until halfway through Magnolia, but then the panic overcame her entirely. She slumped to the ground in an alley, hoping she was out of public view before she propped herself on one good arm and started to throw up. Visions of Gajeel, not _her_ Gajeel but the one in the park, with those wicked red eyes and that evil grin. Had he crucified Lin too? How many people had he killed since he nearly killed her?

Her face hit the cold stone of the pavement as her arm gave out, thank goodness she had been able to avoid the vomit, and she started to hyperventilate. She tried to breathe slower, she tried so hard but her lungs wouldn't cooperate with her, and black spots swam in front of her eyes as she felt herself passing out.

" _Apple and pear trees were a-blooming_ "

The words weren't in Fiorian but she easily understood them, and came from somewhere above her, floating into her brain and giving it something to latch onto which wasn't sending fear down her spine.

" _Mist was creeping on the river_ "

The voice moved downwards, and Levy realised whoever was singing was sitting down next to her. The voice was deep, familiar somehow but she still couldn't place it.

" _Katyusha set out on the banks, on the steep and lofty banks_ "

She latched onto the words, translating them into as many different languages as she could even as they left the singer's mouth like Mira had told her to. Fiorian, Boscan, that one dialect from Alvarez. Her mind started to clear as she focused on that task, moving away from the glowing red eyes that hadn't haunted her for years.

" _She was walking, singing a song about a grey steppe eagle_ "

Levy pushed herself to sit up with her good arm, resting her head against the brick wall behind her. She wouldn't open her eyes, not just yet, but she groped around with her hand before her fingers met a leg and grasped on for dear life. She needed an anchor back to reality, and right now this was it.

" _About her true love, whose letters she was keeping_ "

At the last words, her eyes shot open. She didn't want to hear any more, didn't need a love song right now. Her eyes took a while to focus through the tears, but she just about made out Freed sat opposite her, immaculate clothes already dirtied from the grime in the alleyway. His right eye was still bandaged the way it had been in the hospital, and Levy tried not to think of what he had been through. He smiled softly, the song halting from his lips as he spoke.

"Welcome back, Levy. I was walking through and I spotted…"

His words were cut off as she flung herself at him, needing some human contact no matter who it was from. He flustered slightly, before wrapping his own arms around her back as she sobbed into his chest.

"Freed! Gajeel and Bickslow, they…"

"I know." His voice was a harsh whisper, and made her stop in her tracks. "And I think they'd both appreciate if you didn't blurt it out to everyone."

Levy pulled back from him, perching awkwardly on her knees beside him.

"You… you knew? Was I the only idiot naive enough to think they had changed?"

Freed pursed his lips, looking out of the alley into the busy streets of Magnolia. That they'd been left alone for this long was a miracle in itself, and he didn't think it would last much longer.

"Levy, come back to my place? We can talk there."

Levy crossed her good arm, glaring at the man in front of her before her desire to know more got the better of her. She sighed in defeat, going to stand to her feet before the lack of magic and pain in her arm made her stumble.

Freed caught a hold of her, carefully adjusting around her bad arm until she was sat awkwardly in his lap. He blushed ferociously as he held out one of his hands.

"May I?"

Levy nodded, and seconds later they were surrounded by runes and out of the alleyway.

* * *

Being moved by runes was different to any way Levy had been moved before, magically or otherwise. Whenever she had been in Gajeel's shadows it had just darkened the rest of the her perception as the world sped past her. Travelling via Jet had always been too fast for her to fully comprehend, the world whirling past her as she clenched her eyes closed to stop them from drying out. The two or three times she had been moved by a teleporter it had roiled her stomach, making her need to throw up as soon as she got to their destination, but via runes?

She felt as if she was floating, all of her limbs moving of their own accord in directions that didn't make sense. Her vision was filled with runes, moving far too fast for her to translate and her whole skin felt like it was being caressed with a million butterflies. Her head felt like it was down by her feet, and her left arm was somewhere on another continent. She came to still on Freed's lap, eyes wide as she tried to work out what had happened to her and put it into words in her brain.

"Don't think about it too much or you'll go insane."

She turned her head up to look in Freed's eye. How did he do that all the time? How was he fine? The eye that she could see was as calm as always and she remained speechless as she stared into it. Could she see runes falling down behind his pupil?

"Seriously, Levy. What do you think happened to Bickslow?"

Levy shook her head. Was that true? Had Bickslow lost his mind because of Freed's runes? It wasn't unbelievable. When she blinked she could see more letters falling around her, slotting into place in the wrong formations, the wrong words, nonsense filling her head. She stared into his eye, turquoise and purple alternating as they wrote an entire story in seconds.

A snapping of fingers brought her out of it, and Freed's hand was right in front of her eyes. The runes that had been haunting her dissipated and her mind suddenly cleared.

"Breathe."

She took a deep breath, filling up her lungs with air before closing her eyes and resting against his chest. She didn't know what he felt about her still being sat on his lap, but she wanted to stay there. She liked the human contact, craved it even. She had always been a cuddly person, especially when she was upset, and she buried her face in his coat as he awkwardly pulled her closer to him.

"Did you know that they were going to do it, Freed?"

Her voice was made even quieter by the fact her mouth was muffled in the fabric. He sighed, resting his cheek against the top of her head. It was the most affectionate she had ever seen the man, but it was exactly what she needed right now. Mira had mentioned that Freed himself had been struggling over the last few days, maybe this was helping him too?

"I knew Bickslow was, but I promise I would have come to you if I had any idea he was going to drag Gajeel into it."

Levy grabbed onto the fabric of his coat, sobbing heavily for a moment before something crossed her mind.

"Tell me something, Freed. If you had been around when Phantom Lord attacked, what would you have done to Gajeel?"

She could feel Freed smile above her, but it was a sad smile that she saw on the face of many of her friends when they were reminded of things they had done in the past.

"Would you believe me if I told you we were in Magnolia when Phantom Lord attacked?"

Levy's eyes widened, but she didn't speak. The Raijinshuu had always gone quiet whenever anyone mentioned Phantom, and she had always assumed it was because they hadn't been around to defend Fairy Tail, or sharing with Gajeel's guilt at their similar attempts to destroy the guild, but it seemed like Freed was about to tell her the truth.

"We were rooting for Phantom. Our plan was for Phantom to take out the guild, and then Laxus would come in like some shining beacon out of the darkness, and bring the guild back to prominence again. And a part of that was eliminating the enemies. Bickslow had done reconnaissance and earmarked Gajeel and Juvia for himself, whereas Evergreen was to take Totomaru and Sol while Laxus took down Aria and Jose. I was to provide my normal back up, setting up traps and making sure we won."

Levy winced, realising just how well the Thunder Legion had planned it out. If they had taken part in the battle, would it ever have gone as far?

"Do you regret what you did?"

Freed sighed heavily, blowing through her hair as he did.

"Honestly, no. My past is my past and I can't change it. If I didn't live through my past I wouldn't be the man I was today. I wouldn't have the friends I've found and I wouldn't have Mira."

Levy nodded slowly, turning this information over in her mind. Dwelling on the past could be detrimental to your health. But this wasn't the quiet, bordering on secretive Freed she knew.

"Why are you doing this, Freed? Why bother to help me at all?"

Freed chuckled slightly and Levy could imagine him closing his eye as he did.

"I'm helping out a friend, aren't I?"

His cheek left her head as he leant back on the sofa and she tilted her face up to look at him.

"Plus, you have your coping mechanisms and I have mine. My girlfriend is whirling around trying to fix everyone but herself, my one best friend is blind, the other's mind is falling apart at the seams and my idol blames it all on himself. My whole life, I was to be seen and not heard. My whole life I was to remain silent about what was happening around me. But when it comes down to it, I just want to tell stories. I want people to know why we are who we are."

Levy nodded even though she didn't fully understand, and rested her head back on his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say before Levy finally raised her head to look at him again.

"What should I do, Freed?"

His good eye opened, looking down into hers before he sighed and looked up at the ceiling above him.

"You know as well as I do I can't answer that."

Levy puffed out her cheeks, of course she knew. But that didn't mean she didn't wish the answer could be given to her on a plate.

"What did you do with Bickslow?"

Freed shrugged underneath her, closing his eye again.

"What I had to do. But Gajeel isn't Bickslow."

Levy thought for a moment. Her heart and her head were pulling her in opposite directions, and she knew which one would win out.

"Freed, could I use your office?"

She stood up when he replied in the affirmative, making her way to where he pointed before she froze.

"Oh, and your hand."

* * *

Gajeel could smell him coming from a mile away. He was lay in the wreckage of his living room after the Dragon had wreaked destruction in its mindless rage. Now he was collapsed on the floor, staring up at the ceiling with what felt like a forty tonne weight on his chest. He wouldn't cry. He was the Iron Dragon Slayer, Black Steel Gajeel, and he would not cry.

The old man picked his way carefully through the ruins almost nimbly for his age, but Gajeel didn't acknowledge him. Why should he? He didn't owe him a damned thing.

"Gajeel."

The whole scene flashed back images to a dark scrap yard, what seemed so long before. But he knew this time the conversation would be different.

"I know what you did."

Gajeel sighed, turning his head away. Of course he knew. The old man knew everything that ever happened in his guild.

"If you want me to leave, I'll go. Just give me a couple days to…"

"When I found you, Gajeel, you were so close to darkness I was unsure if even I could pull you out of it."

Makarov sat down on a broken chair, it wasn't comfortable but it was enough for his old bones.

"And you're not back there yet, Gajeel. But I fear if I let you leave now that would be the only path open to you. Since I've known you you've become such an important part of this guild and I'm proud to call you my son, no matter what happens. That being said, I trust you won't do it again"

Gajeel scoffed, finally turning to look up at the man. His expression was stern, but there was still something there. That love and sense of belonging that was what it truly meant to be in Fairy Tail. The feeling he was sure he was taking advantage of.

"But, the Raijinshuu…"

"Are getting better. They have taken the right path, they're just not as far down it as anyone would like. You're not them, Gajeel. Don't stoop to their level."

Gajeel closed his eyes against the daylight streaming into the room. It was too bright for a day like today. A day like today needed darkness, thunder and rain. The two men sat in silence for a while, before Makarov stood and turned to the door.

"Your presence has been requested at the council. Levy has already been and is in the clear. I trust you know your story."

A spike of hope entered his heart as he found Levy wasn't in danger, but it sank again when he remembered that it was no thanks to him. He nodded, and Makarov held out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Oh, and someone requested I give you this. I leave it up to you whether you read it now or later."

Gajeel stared at the paper while the man left. It was stiff, royal letter paper if he had to take a guess. What did the royal family want with him? It held no scent, no clue as to who had passed it over to him. When he opened it the handwriting was clipped and neat, not Levy's even though he knew the words were hers. As he read tears welled up in his eyes, falling in fat globules to stain the paper. When he was finally finished he crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it with the rest of the wreckage before storming out.

" _Dear Gajeel,_

_I wish I could say this to your face but I think it's better this way._

_First of all , want you to know I love you with all of my being. I can't imagine life without you, you've become my everything. Please, remember that._

_That being said I cannot forgive you for what you have done. To take another man's life is a sin I didn't think you were capable of. Not anymore. You're not the man I fell in love with and that's okay. Lin put a strain on all of us and I understand that, I really do. But I need some time to think. Some time away from you._

_I will stay away from the guildhall, to make it easier on the both of us. I'll go to my therapy, both physical and mental so you don't have to worry about that either._

_I know that I will come back to you, Gajeel, but I can't promise you when or if it will be the same when I get back. But we can try._

_Make sure you look after yourself, and don't isolate yourself entirely. Please don't run away from this. Lily is still around, along with the rest of Fairy Tail. You'll always be my Drake. My Dragon without wings._

_I love you._

_Levy_ "

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - The song that Freed sings is called Katyusha, it's a really old Russian song and I don't know the artist I'm afraid!
> 
> With this chapter I am putting this fic on a semi-hiatus. That means it won't be updated every week, but I will still update periodically. I hate to do it but I have my thesis to write for my Masters and unfortunately that takes precedent.
> 
> In the meantime I am writing a collaboration with Gajeelswoman, who you may know as the wonderful human who beta's all of this and helps me out of writers block. Seriously go and check her out if you haven't already, her writing is incredible. The first chapter should be out soon (maybe).
> 
> And another shout out to Kmmcm who blind tests these chapters for me and makes sure I get the reaction I desire. You're the best!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has left me reviews and supported me through this insane fic! I hope to see you soon!


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